Escape
by Spartan5271
Summary: Who can you trust when the world is against you? Who can you follow in a world of lies? Where is safe in a country that hunts for you? Follow Ruby and her partner Jaune as they outrun those who were close to her and meet friends and enemies along the way. Rated M for violence and language
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone, I have been working on this for a while and that is why I have not been able to work on other stuff. I am really looking for feedback and hope that you enjoy this.**

_Humanity: The most intelligent species that inhabits the planet Earth. Yet somehow, despite their intelligence, humanity is nothing more than a cruel and unforgiving species. They have fought for centuries based on the religions they worship, the people they elect, the color of their skin, the food they eat, who they can love, and many other idiotic reasons. In all honesty, humanity is fearful. And the one thing they fear the most is change._

Prologue

November 27th, 2040

4:32 PM

The winter air swept through the busy streets of New York City. Snow was falling, self-driving cars were transporting their passengers to their destinations, people were walking alongside the newest androids that came out only a few weeks prior. It was a normal day in the City that Never Sleeps.

Within the Queens district, two police cruisers tore through a red light with sirens blaring. Unlike normal police cars, these were carbon black. The usual red and blue lights were replaced with yellowish orange lights, and where the N.Y.P.D logo would be were four new letters.

G.D.T.F

The G.D.T.F stood for the Grimm Detainment Task Force, a government funded police unit designed to handle any individuals capable of magic. Their orders were to find and incapacitate any enhanced individuals and take them to government funded prisons, known as have been many reports regarding these Institutions that send chills down any Grimm's spine. They say that Grimm who are placed there are experimented on in the hopes of finding a possible cure.

_You might be asking yourself how the public would allow such a horrifying idea to become reality. I asked myself the same thing, and the answer is that people were scared. They were scared of what Grimm could do with these powers. They were scared because Grimm can do something that humans cannot. They were so scared that the second Grimm popped up, they were immediately marked as domestic terrorists by the government. Not that they are completely wrong, If you saw someone on the news launching fire out of their hands or causing lights to explode, how would you react?But now is not the time to discuss the past._

The interior of those cruisers were far more advanced than most vehicles. The console had numerous holographic images. The front windshield displayed the weather readings, temperature, and highlighted the path to the destination. The seats were made of synthetic leather that had instant heat and cooling.

Between the seats were two modified P90s with hand scanners to ensure that only registered G.D.T.F officers and other authorities would be able to use them, and other such modifications including single/burst fire rate, laser sight, and an iron sight scope.

In each patrol vehicle were two G.D.T.F officers, their carbon black armor reflecting the lights that flew by outside.

In the leading car sat Lieutenant Taiyang Xiao Long. His black rimmed glasses outlined his caramel colored eyes. His mustache was messy and was in need of a trim, as well as the stubble around his neck.

In 2021, Taiyang joined the Queens police district. During his time on the force, Taiyang was only a Sergeant when the G.D.T.F was founded in 2031. After joining the G.D.T.F, Taiyang was promoted to Lieutenant and Head of the G.D.T.F in Queens.

Reaching over to the center console, Gordon pulled the radio out and activated all G.D.T.F secure channels. "Attention G.D.T.F patrol units one and two, respond."

"Sergeant Qrow Rose, ready to add on to the tab tonight," the man beside Qrow chuckled.

Qrow Rose is a fellow G.D.T.F officer and a Sergeant of the Queens NYPD. Qrow was the guy in the department who always knows how to make someone feel better, whether it be a buddy to drink with or a shoulder to cry on.

Taiyang and Qrow started out as partners in the NYPD that soon became a friendship. That friendship solidified when Taiyang married Qrow's late sister, Summer Rose.

'Officer Derek, checking in, sir.'

'Officer Phillip, checking in.'

"Communications, check in."

'This is Communications Director Raven, all of the lights are green. Based on your speed and distance, you will arrive in about five minutes.'

"That's right on schedule. How is the victim doing?"

'She is currently hiding in the attic.'

"Tell her that we are almost there."

'Affirmative. Stay safe, Taiyang.'

Raven Branwen was a fellow cop with Qrow and Taiyang who joined the G.D.T.F in its early days. The three become close friends and were considered the "Grimm Hunters" as a joke by their fellow officers.

"Okay everybody, listen up! What we have here is a 10-62. The owner of the home, a thirty-five year old female by the name of Blake Belladonna, was in the kitchen when she heard a loud explosion come from her living room. She panicked and ran into the attic and has been waiting for us. The C.D sent us a layout of the house. There are only two entrances, so we will be performing the pincer tactic to cut off both exits. The Elf is confirmed to still be in the house and considered to be extremely hostile."

"We have a visual on the destination. Pulling up to a safe distance now."

As the cruisers pulled up to the destination, the officers heard screaming coming from the household.

"Blake! Get out here!" The Faunus screamed from inside of the house.

"We have confirmation that the Faunus is still inside the house. Stick to the plan of incapacitation, but know that neutralization is allowed."

Taiyang and Qrow set their weapons to single fire before approaching the house. While the in laws approached via the side of the house, officers Derek and Phillips slowly began their approach towards the front of the house before heading through the side gate. Taiyang nodded silently to Qrow, signaling for them to move around the back, slowly making their way through the side yard. Hearing a door being kicked open from inside of the house, both Qrow and Taiyang shifted closer to the wall to avoid detection.

"I saw you! I saw you and Sun last night!"

They listened as the Faunus walk out of the room before Taiyang turned on his radio.

"Grimm is highly agitated. Possibility of cooperative detainment is to be considered unlikely."

'Is incapacitation still the priority, sir?'

"Just stay sharp and be ready for a fight, kid," Qrow said.

Taiyang and Qrow rounded the corner into the backyard, only to find a burnt corpse next to a recently lit fireplace.

"We have a body here," Qrow said into his radio, approaching cautiously and kneeling next to it. "The body looks to be male, around 20's, average height and weight. Suspect mentioned a man named Sun. Victim is lying next to a fireplace. The heat from it is still warm, indicating that he was recently killed."

Taiyang tapped Qrow shoulder before pointing at the large hole that was in the glass door overlooking the yard.

"We have visual confirmation that the glass door has a giant hole in it. Based on the blast, it came from outside. It looks to me like the Grimm came in through the side yard while victim, allegedly Sun, was in the backyard. He used a flame spell and set Sun on fire, killing him instantly, before blasting through the glass door."

"Great. We have an Grimm that is dealing with a breakup," Vincent said dryly.

"Sergeant Rose and I are in position."

'Officer Phillip and I are in position. Guns are set for single fire, sir.'

"Okay. You know what to do."

A loud knock was heard from within the house.

"G.D.T.F! OPEN UP!"

"Oh fuck! IGNIS!"

Hearing the spell, Qrow and Taiyang ran inside the house through the hole in the door. Where a mahogany door once stood was a large hole leading out into the front yard, the wood now outlined by a burning black ring. Officer Phillips was on the ground unconscious while officer Derek had his gun trained on the Grimm who stood in the center of all three officers.

The Grimm that stood before them had a black jacket, red shirt, and black jeans. His hair was dyed red, but it was his eyes that gave away who he was. Those black void filled eyes with only the glowing blood red pupils to contrast it.

"I am Lieutenant Taiyang Xiao Long of Queens' Grimm Detainment Task Force. Adam Taurus, you have demonstrated sings of being a Grimm and will be taken to the nearest Institution where you will be treated for your disease."

"Disease?! I am a fucking God!"

"Alright then, your holiness, how about you show us your hands?" Qrow asked.

"Oh, I'll show you my hands," Adam said as he raised his hands into the air.

Taiyang looked up to see the lights that were above them and quickly pieced together what he was going to say.

"_Elect_—"

"FIRE!"

All three officers fired their weapons at the same time, all three hitting various parts of the Grimm's body. Falling to his knees, the Grimm looked down and placed his hand on his chest, feeling the dark red liquid pouring over his hand.

Slowly looking up at both Qrow and Taiyang, Adam could only chuckle, "_Ego... sum libero…_"

With those final words, the Grimm's blood red eyes dilated as his hands fell limp at his sides before his is body collapsed and he fell flat onto the floor.

"Grimm has been neutralized. Send paramedics for the two bodies and for Officer Phillips."

5:47 PM

After giving her statement on what happened before she ran to the attic, the victim was allowed to leave the precinct. Inside the G.D.T.F department, the lights were out and almost all of the G.D.T.F day shift had gone home; the only person who was currently working in the G.D.T.F was Taiyang, who was typing his report into the computer.

Hearing a knock on his door, Taiyang looked up to see his co-worker and girlfriend, Raven, standing at the door.

"Hey Tai, what are you doing?"

"Just finishing the report on that Faunus that broke into the house."

"How long will that take? Qrow is offering us drinks tonight which means we won't be seeing him till noon tomorrow."

"Sorry, I can't. I promised Ruby that I'd watch a movie with her tonight."

"Oh, was that tonight?"

"Yeah, and she's been really busy with school so I feel like I owe it to her."

Raven walked up and placed a hand on Taiyang's shoulder. "I know that the day is coming up."

Taiyang looked over to a dated photo of his younger self and another woman sitting at home with their three year old daughter.

"If you ever need to talk to someone—"

"Thanks, Raven. I should be fine here. I'll see you tomorrow."

Raven paused for a moment, but simply decided that it would be best if she bid him goodnight.

6:32 PM

Taiyang pulled his car into the driveway of his house. Proceeding up the three brick steps to his home, Taiyang opened the door to see his daughter sitting in the family room, eating some instant popcorn, watching TV.

'Ah! Good evening, sir!'

Taiyang looked to the right and saw their Household Artificial Intelligence Servant, or Penny as Ruby liked to call her as a child, walking toward him from the hallway. It was a collective birthday present from the N.Y.P.D for serving so many years on the force.

'Shall I take your coat sir?'

"No, Penny, I'm fine. Why don't you go charge?"

'Right away, sir.' Penny walked over to the wall and plugged its standard issue android charger into its hip before powering down.

"Hey dad, how was work?" Ruby asked.

Taiyang put his coat on the coat hanger before sitting down beside his daughter.

"The same," he said as he grabbed the remote. "How was school?"

"The same… So! What relic from your childhood are you going to force me to watch?"

"Keep talking like that, and I will pull out what was considered a bad movie back then."

"I mean, what amazing piece of cinema are we going to watch?"

"That is what I thought," Taiyang chuckled, "How about… The Matrix?"

"Those graphics are so bad though…"

"Or we can watch Birdemic 2."

"Okay! Okay! We can watch The Matrix."

8:32 PM

Once the movie was done, Ruby proceeded into her room.

"Hey Dad! I'm going to read for a bit before I head to bed."

"Okay, don't stay up too late."

Ruby closed the door very carefully and locked it without her father hearing before she walked up to her bed. After making sure that she was in the clear, Ruby got onto her knees to reach underneath her bed. Feeling what she was looking for, Ruby pulled out a book with the cover saying, 'Diary'. But when Ruby opened the "diary", the true title of the book was revealed.

'English to Latin Translator'.

_In the year 2031, when Elves were starting to pop up more and more around the world, it was discovered that all spells were derived from their Latin roots, so the language was declared illegal across the US and other countries as well. Soon after, all forms of literature pertaining to the Latin language were confiscated and destroyed. Almost all of it._

Ruby turned on her bedside lamp and clambered on top of her comforter. Opening to a bookmarked page, Ruby began to stare intently at a single phrase to try and say it.

"P…Parva locks. No… Parva Lucks… shit come on. _Parva Lux._"

Ruby looked at her bedside table as her lamp seemed to grow brighter than it was before. Extending her hand towards the lamp, Ruby said the spell again.

"_Parva Lux_."

As the lamp began to grow brighter, Ruby watched as a luminescent blur began to move towards her hand and clump together to form a small ball of light that began to grow too bright for Ruby to handle.

"Shit."

Ruby turned away from the light as it began to get too bright and quickly flipped through the pages of the translation book, finding the right translation to dim the light.

"Here we go… cali… gave— no, gav i runt. _Caligaverunt_."

The overwhelming light began to subside until the glow was just bright enough to give off the same amount of light as a night light. Ruby stared at the ball of light with wonder in her eyes as she saw multiple bright colors waving around in a perfect translucent sphere.

Smiling, Ruby looked towards the mirror and saw her glowing reflection. She was almost human… but her eyes are what made her the monster on the news, her eyes are what made her the freak that she was.

Not wanting to get caught, Ruby raised her hand upward, as if she were gently letting a bird fly from her hand. The orb of light flew into the air before crumbling away like sand in an hourglass. Placing both her hands on her eyes and whispered "_Abscondam_". She felt her eyes slowly changing back to their original form. Once the spell was done, she removed her hands and looked at her reflection in the mirror once more.

As she stared at her eyes, Ruby was happy to see that they were white and silver again. Placing the book in its original hiding spot, Ruby hopped into bed and went to sleep, ready to head to school the next morning.

_You think that this story is going to be some badass cop taking down the big bad terrorist group? No, that is not what is going to happen. Instead, you are going to read the story of my journey. The journey that I made to make it out before I could be killed because of what I am. This is the tale of my escape._


	2. Chapter 2

_December 2nd, 2040_

_7:30 AM_

The incessant beeping sound of the alarm clock filled the room as the sixteen year old slowly opened her eyes to see the holographic clock that rested on her bedside table. Leaning up from her bed, Ruby groaned as she stared at the clock with hatred in her tired eyes.

"Shut up… stupid clock…" she said, swiping her hand wildly to her right until she heard the beeping stop, only to be replaced with the sound of her bedroom door opening and footsteps coming in.

'Good morning Miss Rose.'

Ruby, now fully awake, looked in front of her and saw Penny was standing at the foot of her bed.

'The date is Tuesday, December 2nd, 2040. The time is 7:30 in the morning. Expected weather is clear skies with a 98% chance of snowfall in the late evening,' Ruby slowly got out of bed as Penny continued speaking, 'Your father is currently in the living room, watching the television. Shall I let him know that you are awake?'

"No, that will not be necessary. Just have the shower ready for me please."

'As you wish Miss Rose.'

Penny proceeded out of the room, leaving Ruby to take care of her own personal matters. Finally out of bed and mostly awake, Ruby grabbed the clothes that she had decided to wear today. The articles of clothing that she had picked out were a white t-shirt, blue jeans… and a long red hoodie that her mom wore as a teenager.

_Dad would always say how much mom loved this jacket. He said that she would wear it even on the coldest days of the year and the hottest summers in the city. I thought that was a crazy thing to say, but now I completely agree with her._

Before she forgot, Ruby placed her clothes down onto her bed, kneeled down beside her bed and reached underneath, grabbing the translation book and hiding it under her comforter. A sort of routine that Ruby had in case Penny tried to clean her room during the day.

Knowing that the book would be safe there, Ruby took her fresh set of clothes and walked out of her room to the bathroom. Ruby proceeded down the hallway, passing her father's room and turning the corner towards the bathroom. Standing outside of the bathroom, Penny stood there, waiting for Ruby.

"The shower is set to start as soon as you enter, Miss Rose."

"Thank you, Penny."

Once Ruby had entered the bathroom, she shut and locked the door.

'Shower on.'

The shower's robotic voice echoed in the bathroom started the water within the shower. Placing her fresh clothes on the counter, Ruby stripped out of her pajamas. Hopping into the shower, the warming water woke Ruby up quite quickly. Poking her head out, Ruby asked, "Hey Penny?"

'Yes Miss Rose?'

"Can you go make me a cup of coffee?"

'Of course Miss Rose.'

Hearing Penny walk away from the door, Ruby took advantage of the free time she had.

Placing her hand flat out in front of her and directly underneath the water, Ruby concentrated on the feeling of the drops of water hitting her hand. Closing her eyes, Ruby said, "_Aqua_."

Ruby watched as drops of shower begin to levitate in the air and inch towards the palm of her hand. Once there, the drops began spinning around until forming a small ring. Clenching her hand into a fist, Ruby caused the ring to tremble and quake before the ring imploded into a small ball of water.

Ruby smiled at her work. She had been working on this spell for the last three days, so seeing that the spell was finally working made Ruby smile.

But the moment did not last…

A sudden knock startled Ruby, quickly losing concentration and lowering her hand, causing the ball of water to lose its shape and fall through her fingers, splashing against the ceramic floor and going down the drain.

'Miss Rose, I have made you a cup of coffee and would like to let you know that you are currently thirty-five seconds behind your Monday through Friday schedule.'

"Thank you Penny, I'll be right out!"

Deciding that she had wasted enough time in the shower, Ruby quickly washed her hair before turning the water off. Using the hiding spell on her eyes again, Ruby stepped out of the shower to dry off and get dressed. Brushing her teeth and flossing as well as confirming she was in the clear, Ruby walked out of the bathroom and into the kitchen.

Walking up to the granite counter top, Ruby grabbed her fresh cup of coffee and poured in a spoonful of cream and a few scoops of sugar.

'…and the senate has agreed to a vote regarding the G.G.B will come into effect soon. While most of the senators seem to be in favor of this bill, Senator Hill has adamantly stated her support of the Grimm as this video clip from yesterday's conference shows.'

Ruby looked into the living room and saw that the television was set to the news, which these days, seemed to be some genre of bad news almost all the time.

'We are so obsessed with the idea that humanity is the alpha of this world that when something new, something more evolved, comes into existence, humans as a species will fear this new discovery and try to get rid of it. We see only the potential dangers of Grimm and yet few seem to see the good that the Grimm can provide for this planet.'

_Senator Hill… One of the few good ones left in this country, let alone Congress, who actually seemed to give a shit about us. When she first started talking about Grimm, I thought she was going to be just some fresh suit who was going to last only one term. She came up out of nowhere in 2035, going on about how Grimm can actually be a benefit for both humanity and the planet. If only more people saw things the way that she did… maybe we would have lasted longer._

'For the last couple of months, Senator Hills' comments have seemed to shift the view of Grimm for some individuals, as you can see behind me, protestors are standing outside of the Institution right here in the capital of the United States.'

Ruby walked closer to the TV to see the sight of the Institution.

_In 2037, President Ironwood ordered the construction of those buildings to calm the fear of the people. Those giant black eyesores were in every big city where Grimm were taken and tested on with various medicines to try and find a cure. Ten years of torturing men, women, and children in the hopes of finding a "cure" for what we were._

'Hold on a second. I am receiving some breaking news. It appears that an institution in Montana was just attacked by the terrorist group of Grimm, The Light. According to the officials supervising the Institution, they held nearly three thousand Grimm. Reports say that there were no human casualties in the attack, but Montana's G.D.T.F units are on high alert and will continue searching for the Grimm that have escaped. More details after this—'

"More of the same old crap…" Taiyang said as he turned around to see his daughter, "Oh good morning Ruby, I didn't hear you."

"I just walked out here… what was that about the Grimm today?"

"Just another Institution attack. That's the second attack in the last two months."

"Perhaps that new bill has something to do with it?" Ruby asked as she sipped her coffee.

_If you must know what bill I refer to, I am talking about the G.G.B. Not familiar with that acronym? Wouldn't be surprised. It is the Grimm Genocide Bill. It was brought up a few months ago as a proposal, but was considered too extreme. But as time went on, people wanted this "issue" solved as soon as possible, so the proposal became a plan and that plan became a bill._

"That is very likely."

"Do you think the bill will pass?"

"I'm not sure, everything is very unclear these days. On one hand, it will be very effective against the Grimm, but it can put those in the G.D.T.F out of their jobs. But now is not the time to focus on that. What is on the schedule for school today?"

"It's probably just going to be more of the usual boring lectures. Or maybe we will be going over Grimm again in History Class."

"Well, at least you are learning something. Back when we didn't have to worry about Grimm, our fears were SATs and getting into college."

"I still have to worry about that."

Taiyang chuckled, knowing that his daughter was too smart for him, "Well, looks like my shift is starting soon, and you should probably head to school soon."

Taiyang proceeded to the door only to stop at the door, "Hey, after school today and my shift ends, why don't we have an impromptu movie night?"

"Only if you promise not to overdo the instabutter."

"That's what makes whatever that excuse for popcorn is these days taste like the old stuff. Now, if you see an Grimm, you…"

_I always hated having to say the same damn phrase every time I left the house. It is like asking what I would do if I saw another me. But… I had to keep the act going._

"Call you and get as far away from the dangerous freak as I can."

"Good. Have a good day at school."

When the door shut, Ruby sipped her coffee as Penny walked up to her.

'Warning: You are approximately two minutes past schedule Miss Rose.'

Ruby spat out her coffee, "Oh shit, I'm gonna miss the train!"

'Language Miss Rose!'

Ruby grabbed her bag and ran out of the front door, screaming, "Eat shit Penny!"

Ruby ran down her home street of 81st Avenue, along Queens Boulevard, before making it to Main Street & Manton Street Stop. She quickly walked down the subway stairs, and saw the check-in station. It was a digital gate with an ID scanner. Approaching the scanner, Ruby quickly pulled out her school card and swiped it on the scanner.

'Scanning Identification Card.' The robotic voice said.

"Come on. Come on! Hurry up!"

The scanner beeped, signaling that the scan was completed, with a green check mark on the screen providing a visual confirmation.

'Student Card Accepted. Proceed.'

The security gate opened and Ruby ran through to see her train was still there and boarding. Hopping on board, Ruby was able to slide her way through the mass of people into the train car.

'Please stand clear as the doors are now closing.'

Managing to get next to a pole, Ruby held on tight as the train took off.

'So what do you think about all this chaos in the senate Phil?'

As Ruby fished for her phone in her bag, Ruby listened to the radio that was playing above her.

'Well, Dianne, I believe that I speak for America when I say that this Grimm issue is getting worse and worse by the day. When you think about it, six years ago, we never even imagined the possibility of magic. And these days, citizens can't even enjoy a day to themselves without the possibility of a bolt of lightning coming in their direction. And to make things worse, we have the terrorist group, The Light, attacking the institutions, freeing hundreds of Grimm and letting them loose in the nearby towns and cities. Frankly if you ask me, I find Senator Hill's commitment to the Grimm suspicious.'

'I hate to interrupt, but it appears that we have some breaking news. Just five minutes ago, we received word that President Ironwood will be holding a meeting with his administration to discuss the terms of the G.G.B. It appears we will be discovering whether or not the term genocide is meant metaphorically or literally.'

"I hope that President Ironwood does something soon."

"We should just sign that damn bill and exterminate those things. Keeping those creatures alive in the Institutions is simply a waste of our money."

"I'm scared to send my son to pre-school! Did you hear about that boy who was detained when he was caught healing a bird?"

"God forbid that the child heals an animal."

"Oh and when he grows up and decides he wants to set his school on fire? Think before you speak dip shit."

"Yeah, good luck when they burn you alive for looking at them the wrong way."

"Maybe if I treat them like a fellow human being, I won't have to worry about that."

Managing to grab her phone and earphones, Ruby quickly pulled it out, not wanting to hear to another word. Now, it isn't the newest iPhone 12 like other kids in her class. In fact, it was a hand me down.

_I have only three items left of my mother's… my jacket, this phone, and a photo of her on my bedside table… everything else was taken when my grandparents came and took it all from us. Never spoke to us for years, but the second mom died… they took it all and sold it all._

Connecting the earphones to her phone, Ruby scrolled through the playlists and random songs until she found the song she wanted to listen to.

'Arriving at Q46.'

Seeing her stop, Ruby paused the song she was listening to and hopped off of the train. This was her routine to school: she would enter the subway, listen to one segment of her playlist, and pause it as soon as she reached her stop.

As soon as the doors open, Ruby jogged up the stairs leading out of the Main St & Melbourne Avenue subway line and down Melbourne Avenue. After reaching that destination, Ruby past the T-intersection of Melbourne Avenue and 149th Street and arrived at her destination. Beacon High School, the school that's been around since Ruby's parents were kids.

As she continued to admire the school, Ruby heard a familiar voice behind her, "Well look who it is. Ruby Rose, the teacher's bitch."

Ruby rolled her eyes as she turned around to see Ciel Soleil with her little posse behind her.

_I still can't believe that Ciel and I used to be friends. But then when the accident happened… I pushed her away. I guess she will always hold that against me._

"Aw you know that was funny Ciel. Did you think of that during your second or third micro botox?"

"Oh please, we both know that my face is far too good for that."

"Really? Cause I gotta say, you're lip's really showing a botched operation," Ruby tapped her lip.

"At least I don't have to wear the same clothes from yesterday. I mean what is that trash hoodie?"

That hit Ruby… hard. You could tell her a lot of things and she wouldn't flinch…

"Got nothing to say? I guess she used up all of her comebacks girls. Let's go, girls."

As they walked past Ruby, they made an effort to walk into her as well while laughing the whole time. When all of the girls were past her, Ruby walked towards the school in shame.

_Ever since mom died, I could never really talk to people… The only people I really talk with are dad and Penny, even if she is a robot…_

As she walked up the steps to the front entrance of the school, the first bell rang.

"Oh shit," Ruby said as she quickly ran up the staircase to get to her first class.

Clashing and pushing against the other students rushing towards their own classes, Ruby made it into the hallway of the second floor. As she took another step, a fellow student ran into her and, in doing so, knocked Ruby down. When she opened her eyes, she realized at that all of her papers were thrown out of her bag onto the floor. Someone must have unzipped her backpack, and Ruby had a pretty good idea who did it.

"Goddamn it Ciel…" Ruby muttered to herself as she began to grab papers like crazy. After a few seconds of collecting her papers, she saw someone standing in front of her pile.

"Oh crap, I am so sorry. Let me help."

Shana saw the student who ran into her kneel down to help gather her papers. He had shaggy blonde hair and emerald green eyes. He had brown sneakers, a pair of blue denim jeans, a black hoodie with some old joke about the old game 'Fortnite'. With the two of them working quickly, all of the papers were gathered in a matter of seconds.

"Thanks," Ruby said, as she stood up.

"It was no problem. You probably don't remember me. Jaune Arc?"

The name did not, in fact, trigger any memories in Ruby's head.

"We were in a class together last semester," James said.

That was something Ruby remembered, "Oh right, you were in the debate class with me right?"

"Yeah, your name is Ruby, right?"

"Yes," Ruby replied.

"Yeah, I was the nerd who wrote about Grimm benefits to the planet. I probably should have expected that major loss."

"Hey those were some very valid points about the Grimm's benefits to society."

"Yeah well the teacher didn't seem to think so."

"Well, Oobleck wasn't the best teacher either…"

*RIIIIIIIIIING*

"Uh I gotta go! Goodbye," Ruby quickly ran to her classroom, leaving Jaune to run to his own class.

Making it to the class before the bell finished ringing, Ruby walked to her desk and sat down. As they watched her sit down, one of Ciel's backup girls started speaking.

"Hey Ciel, how's your FALL going?"

"Great, I actually just got back from a TRIP."

"You know, you guys can at least try to not act like you didn't do it," Ruby said.

"Why whatever do you mean Ruby?" Ciel asked.

As the teacher walked in, everyone stopped talking, "Good morning class."

The entire class straightened up as their teacher, Ms. Goodwitch, walked in.

"Good morning Ms. Goodwitch," The entire class said.

"Now, I know that some of you have probably heard about the recent events in Montana, so I decided that on that event, today's lesson will be on the origin of Grimm. Now, who can tell me where Grimm originate from?"

Ciel raised her hand, a smug grin on her face. Ms. Goodwitch sighed, knowing that she was not going to like Ciel's answer.

"Ciel."

"It's pretty obvious that Grimm are nothing more than disgusting vermin who crawled out of their little holes to terrorize us."

All of Ciel's posse and most of the class began laughing at her answer, while Ms. Goodwitch a very small handful, meaning only Ruby, only stared at her.

"You know Ciel, if you spent half the amount of time it takes you to put on make up and put that to studying, you might just have an average grade in this class."

The class made their various noises as Ciel just rolled her eyes at Ms. Goodwitch's response. Taking this opportunity, Ruby decided to shift the mood and raised her hand.

"Ruby."

"Grimm is the coined term for individuals who can perform acts of magic."

"Correct. Now, who can tell me about the first report of someone showing these magical abilities?"

Before anyone else could raise their hand, Ruby was quick on the draw.

"I guess that it is Ruby again."

"In October 2034, a college student, by the name of Shane McKinnon, was recorded shooting flames out of his hands at cars and at police officers who were trying to detain him. After a conflict between the student and officers that lasted ten minutes, the authorities shot down the student. Other recordings show him reaching his hand towards a flaming car and used the latin term for fire. Seconds later, the flames were sucked from the car, showing the world how Grimm use their magic."

"Correct. Now who can tell me how we can identify someone who can perform magic?"

Ruby raised her hand yet again.

"Ruby is on a roll today. Go ahead, Ruby."

"People who perform magic have a visual alteration to their eyes."

"And please inform the rest of the class what happens to their eyes?"

"Their eyes turn pitch black with blood red irises and veins."

"If you would Ruby, please provide the class with an example of a spell."

"One example would be the spell '_Lumen_' or Light spell. When an Grimm throws sand and says the spell, the sand turns into a blinding light that lasts about twelve seconds. One recorded event with this spell is when an Grimm in Missouri threw sand into the air and used the spell to blind the police to escape."

"And finally Ruby, other than America, what are the four countries with reports of Grimm and how have they responded to the issue?"

"The four countries that have reports of Grimm are America, Canada, Japan, and Russia. America and Russia have responded to the issue by detaining those with magic abilities and relocate them to maximum security institutions. Unlike America and Russia, both Japan and Canada announced in 2035 and 2038 that they will not detain Grimm. Japan released a statement that these abilities can be used to better the people and planet as a whole. Canada released a statement that any who have magical abilities are allowed to relocate to a new province that they have given to the Grimm community known as Liberteria which is based off of the term Libertia which means freedom in Latin."

"Great work as usual, Ruby. Someone has been doing their homework. Perhaps you can even tutor Ciel," Ms. Goodwitch said.

Smiling, Ruby took her seat, taking not that there were snickers around the room at how she humiliated Ciel.

"Now will everyone open their textbooks to chapter 5 and we shall discuss the origins of the Trojan war."


	3. Chapter 3: Lunch and Passing the Time

**Chapter 2: Lunchtime**

_December 2nd, 2040_

_12:35 PM_

The bell had rung and it was time for lunch. As everyone began to leave the classroom, Ruby sat there and waited for everyone to leave to avoid any needless interaction.

"Was the lesson understandable today, Miss Rose?"

Ruby looked to see her teacher, Mr. Port, sitting in his chair and typing away at his computer.

"Yes."

"That is good to hear. I fear that I sometimes drift from the main point of the lecture."

Ruby simply nodded understandingly as she knew she was in the clear in the hallway.

"Miss Rose, might I ask you a question?"

"Yes?"

"Why do you not leave when all the other students do?"

"Because I don't like people."

"Might I ask why?"

"That's personal…"

"I see… in any event, I simply fear that if you keep yourself from interacting with other people, you will not make any social skills."

"I interact with people in class."

"That is because you are graded to interact with someone is different from having genuine interactions. How many of your classmates are you friends with?"

"…"

"Listen, Ruby… I knew your mother and I know that what happened to her was very sad, but would she want you to be the way you are now?"

_I asked myself that question every day…_

"I am not expecting an answer, but just think about it, okay?"

"Yes, Mr. Port."

From the movement of his bushy mustache, I could tell that he was smiling, "Okay, have a good lunch."

Ruby walked towards the cafeteria with Mr. Port's words of wisdom in her mind. The last person that she considered a friend was Ciel and that was when they were in Elementary school and it was before the accident.

_Maybe if I was human… maybe there was a chance._

Ruby came back to reality and saw that she was now in front of the cafeteria. There were so many people… this was why Ruby didn't leave when the bell rings.

Walking into the line, Ruby put her earphones in and listened to her music.

_Even if I was human, I doubt that I would have been friends with anyone at my school. All they seem to talk about is how much they hate school and home at the same time, or what new drug is the new trend…_

Proceeding out of the line with her food, which consisted of a few plant based chicken nuggets, fries, and a chocolate chip cookie, Ruby proceeded to her eating/hideout spot.

Unbeknownst of her, Ruby was being followed.

Ruby's spot was next to her upcoming class. The reason why she liked it here was because no one else was ever around. In the race case that someone was around, Ruby would find another location. Taking a seat on the floor outside of the classroom, Ruby pulled out her sketchpad and pencil. Opening up her pad, one could see multiple sketches of hands wielding different things. One showed a cell phone, one showed a ball of light. These were all drawings of what Ruby has used to practice her spells.

Setting down her food and a pen in hand, Ruby began to draw the spell she used in the shower. Her hand flat and extended with a ring of water floating around her palm and another hand with the ring formed into a ball of water now.

Ruby was so into her drawing that she did not hear the sound of someone walk up next to her.

"Nice drawing."

Ruby quickly shut her book and jumped up to turn to her "stalker" to see… Jaune?

"It's you," Ruby said, surprised.

"Yeah, I was just on my way to grab something from my locker and I saw you sitting here alone. What was that drawing about?"

'Crap,' Ruby thought to herself…

"It's for my art class."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I need to draw something that is meant to represent humanity's desire for something that they don't have."

"Interesting… well I won't keep you from drawing… whatever you just said, so I am gonna keep going. See you around."

As Jaune walked past Ruby, Ruby felt something… familiar from Jaune. She couldn't place her finger on it, but something told Ruby… that he was different.

_December 2nd, 2040_

_2:35 PM_

Taiyang was sitting in his office, typing out a draft, showing the number of arrests against the number of Grimm deaths in the last few months.

Hearing a knock, Taiyang looked to see his girlfriend, Raven, walk in with a cup of coffee in her hand.

"Figured that you could use this," Raven said as she looked at the computer, "What are our numbers last month?"

"More deaths than arrests… But look here, five weeks ago, there were only a handful of Grimm cases. Then when the G.G.B was put up for debate, there has been a steady incline in missing persons, possible Grimm sightings, and Grimm related crimes."

"Well, when they are about to make it legal to shoot you on sight, I too would commit a crime."

Taiyang looked to Raven and for a brief moment, he did not see Raven, he saw Summer.

"Tai," He heard her voice.

"What?"

When he blinked, he saw Raven. Summer was gone again.

"I asked if you need any help with the paperwork."

"Oh… no, thank you though…"

Raven could tell by how nervous Taiyang had gotten… he saw her again…

"Let me know if you need anything, okay," Raven asked.

Taiyang opened his mouth to respond when Qrow walked in.

"We have a 415H."

"Animal disturbance? Give it to the P.D then."

"They say the kid set their dog on fire with a spell."

Taiyang sighed and set his pen down, "Okay, get geared up Qrow."

"Shouldn't we send Phillips or Derek?"

"No, I need some fresh air even if that air is freezing."

Qrow nodded and went towards the armory.

"I—"

"Don't worry, we can talk more after," Raven leaned in and pecked Taiyang on the cheek, "Now move your ass."

_2:50 PM_

The ride was quiet for the most part, with the exception of the chatter from the police radio. This month was never a time for cheering or jolly in Ruby's family…

"I went to see her," Qrow said.

"And?"

"…I don't know. Every time I go in, I expect something to happen. But, I just leave feeling regret."

"I… I saw her in my office, instead of Raven. It was brief, but there…"

"Tai… Have you been talking to Dr. Leo?"

Taiyang shook his head, "Haven't for a couple of weeks."

"Tai, you promised Ruby that—"

"I just need to get through this week, okay Qrow?"

Qrow seemed shocked by Taiyang's outburst, but understood that now was not the time to fight.

"Alright."

"We're arriving at our destination," Taiyang said as he switched the channel to Raven, "Raven, what do we have?"

'Given the information, the Grimm is currently locked in the bedroom, located on the first door to the right. be careful, it sounded like the family was still in shock.'

"Pulling up now…" Taiyang said.

Once they had parked their police cruiser, Taiyang and Qrow got out of the car, guns set to single fire, and approached the house.

Taiyang walked up to the front door and knocked.

"What is that smell," Qrow gagged.

"Dog. Raven, we are gonna need a disposal team."

'On it.'

The door opened and the two task force members saw an older man, supposedly the father.

"You here for that little monster?"

"Yeah, we're here for the Grimm," Qrow said with a clamped nose.

"He's in his room. Little bastard put up a fight so we had to lock him away. His room is the first door on the right."

While Taiyang proceeded, Qrow took a moment to notice that there was blood on the father's shirt and knuckles.

"You got a problem," Qrow looked up at the man to see he was clearly agitated.

Qrow took a step towards the man, clearly unfazed by the man's intimidation, "Not yet."

"Rose!"

Qrow walked away from the man, knowing fully well what that blood was from.

Qrow and Taiyang stood on both sides of the door and counted down.

"3 2 1… now."

Taiyang opened the door and the two officers walked in, guns trained on their clear target.

There was a clear fight in the room, blood on the floor, a glass picture frame broken and on the floor. In the corner of the room was a boy, the target. He was crying and hiding away from the world. He had clear bruises and cuts on various areas of his body and when the door had opened, he looked at the two officers with those pure black and red eyes.

"It… It was an accident…"

Qrow and Taiyang lowered their weapons and looked at one another.

"How do you want to approach this one," Taiyang asked.

Qrow put his gun away and slowly approached the child, "Hey kid, my name is Qrow."

"Qrow?"

"Yeah, what's your name?"

"O…Oscar."

"That's a neat name, look kid, I am gonna be honest, you did something bad," Qrow said as he took another step.

"Where's Zwei?"

"Zwei went away, but don't worry he is okay. Your parents called us and now we are gonna take you somewhere to help you."

"You promise?"

Now, Qrow was right next to Oscar, "I promise."

Qrow extended his hand to Oscar and hoped that it worked.

Oscar stared at Qrow's hand and took it.

"Now, Oscar, I am gonna need you to put these on," Qrow said as he pulled out graphene handcuffs.

Oscar extended his hands and Qrow put the handcuffs on, which upon contact immediately latched onto the flesh.

Qrow and Oscar walked out of the room with Taiyang behind them. As they walked past the family room, Oscar look in to see the smoke coming towards the door.

"Mom? Dad?"

There was no response from either of the parents and Oscar looked down, "It was an accident…"

The three proceeded to the car when the neighbors walked out and screamed, "FREAK!"

"YOU FUCKING MONSTER!"

Qrow picked up the pace and helped Oscar into car.

"FUCKING DIE!"

Qrow shut the door and looked to Taiyang, "Target secured."

_1:45 PM_

Qrow and Taiyang completed the transport to the Institution. The giant building shadowing the three from the sun as Qrow helped Oscar out of the car.

"This place is creepy…"

"You won't be here for long."

As Taiyang watched Qrow escort Oscar towards the entrance, he looked towards his right and saw Summer standing right there, clear as day.

"Summer?"

She looked to him with tears in her eyes, "You can't stop it."

And just like that, she was gone. Taiyang looked around but was brought back when he heard the door of the Institution open up and the head of this institution approach Qrow and Oscar.

"Dr. Grey, we have another Grimm for you."

"Yes, I can see that… ooh I can't wait to try and fix you. This way," Dr. Grey said as she escorted Oscar into the Institution.

Once they crossed a barrier, the doors rose back up, sealing that child away with the "good doctor".

Walking back to Taiyang, Qrow noticed that he seemed off.

"You okay?"

"Yeah… let's go back to the precinct. We have paperwork to do."


	4. Chapter 4: Secrets Revealed

3_:50 PM_

The final bell had run and it was time for everyone to go home. Ruby grabbed her bag and began to walk out of the classroom. The last class was Ruby's least favorite class: English. Tonight's assignment was to prepare for an upcoming test by reading the last ten chapters of her book. Pulling out her phone, Ruby was about to put her earphones in when someone grabbed her phone.

"Looking for something?" Ciel laughed as she stared at the phone, "What is this garbage anyways?"

"Ciel, give that back right now," Ruby said.

"Hmm… should I give it back to her girls?" Ciel asked.

"I don't know Ciel, her phone looks really filthy."

"Really? Then perhaps we should be nice and wash it for her."

Ruby's eyes widened as she knew what that meant.

"Let's go!" Ciel said as she and the other girls ran off.

"Hey!" Ruby said as she chased after them.

Following the girls, Ruby ran down the stairs, through a hallway, and into the bathroom that the girls ran into. Upon entering, she was grabbed by two of Ciel's girls and held back while Ciel stood beside an open bathroom stall.

"So what do you think girls, should we clean Ruby's phone for her?"

"Ciel please…"

" I think that she just told us to please wash it, Ciel."

"If she wants us to," Ciel shrugged before she turned and threw the phone out of Ruby's view, but the sound of the phone splashing into the toilet caused Ruby's heart to sink.

Running into the stall, Ruby saw her mother's phone… floating in the toilet.

"Come on girls. I think a certain someone has some fishing to do."

Ruby listened as the girls laughed their way out of the bathroom before she quickly rolled up her sleeve and reached into the toilet. She was very quick to pull the phone out and walk out of the stall and to the sink.

"Shit…"

Ruby pressed the home button and saw that nothing happened. Grabbing a few paper towels, she pressed it against the phone and felt some of the water had been absorbed. But it wasn't enough. Removing the paper towels, Ruby tried to start her phone again, only for nothing to happen.

"Shit. Shit! SHIT!"

_I wish that I had waited… If only I had thought this through…_

Ruby looked to the door and back at the stalls. No one was in there, so she had to act fast.

"_Aqua_," Ruby whispered.

As Ruby had her hand extended towards the phone, Ruby watched water droplets trapped within the phone slowly seeped through the openings of the phone and flew towards her hand.

As she kept looking back at the door, Ruby kept using the spell until every last drop of the water escaped her phone. When she knew that all of the water was out of the phone, Ruby whipped her hand to the right, sending the water shooting to the wall, but she did not care.

Ruby pressed the home button again, hoping that it was going to turn on. Sadly, that was not the case. Deciding to try and charge it quickly, Ruby looked to her left and saw an outlet and aimed her wide open hand towards it.

"_Parvum crimen_," She whispered.

Ruby watched as the outlet sparked and the lights flickered for a second. Very small lines of electricity began to fly towards Ruby's hand. As the electricity consistently flew towards her, Ruby slowly closed her fingers like a pair of scissors, cutting off the transfer from the outlet. Shana watched as the electricity wrapped around her hand like tentacles from an octopus. Extending only her index finger, she watched as a single thread of electricity crawled up to the tip of her finger and stay there.

Placing her finger in the charging port of the phone, Ruby saw all of the electricity on her hand flow into her phone. As soon as the electricity made contact with the charging port, Ruby saw the phone light up, forming a smile on Ruby's face.

Once she felt that she had put enough energy into her phone, Ruby retracted her hand with electricity still wrapped around her hand.

This was the tough part. Having little experience with electricity, Ruby only knew how to extract electricity and use it but did not know how to extinguish it.

"Maybe if I—" Ruby extended her hand and suddenly the remaining electricity shot right at the wall, putting a small hole in the wall.

As the electricity made contact, it was not the damage she made that caused her to nearly scream… it was the sight of Jaune standing a foot next to the damage.

"Well… good thing I wasn't standing right there."

"Jaune?! What are you doing in here?"

"I was going to use the bathroom," Jaune pushed the door closed a bit more, showing the men's restroom sign on the door.

'Ciel…' Ruby thought to herself as she looked at the mirror. As she made eye contact with herself, Ruby realized that her eyes were still Grimm

"Well, I uh- I was just trying to fix my phone and it just shorted out in front of me."

Jaune locked the bathroom door and took a step towards Ruby, "Ruby—"

"It just flew out, I am lucky to be alive."

"Ruby."

"And not to mention—"

"Ruby!" Jaune shouted, causing Ruby to finally stop talking, "Even if I didn't see you just push the electricity into your phone, I wouldn't have believed you because…"

Jaune motioned to his eyes.

'Shit…' Ruby thought to herself. Then she realized something, "Wait a minute. You aren't afraid of me and screaming that I should be locked up or die?"

"Heh… No, I guess I'm not." He said as he took a step towards Ruby.

As Jaune took a step towards her, Ruby took a step back, quickly thinking of what she can use in case he tried something. Jaune looked to his left and placed his palm on the same outlet that Ruby had used.

"What're you—"

"_Parvum crimen_."

Ruby watched in shock as Jaune's eyes turned black and red as the outlet sparked and electricity began to wrap around Jaune hand. Pulling away from the outlet, Jaune extended his index finger, the electricity slithered up to the tip of his finger, just as it did with Ruby.

"So… you're…"

"As much of a Grimm as you are." James said as he opened his hand, the electricity levitating and morphing into a ball before it began to dissipate.

Jaune and Ruby used the cloaking spell, reverting their eyes to normal and the lie covered up once more.

Then the realization set in and Ruby turned away from James, "Well, it was great meeting you again and all. But I should get going."

"Ruby."

"And look, I am very happy that you're… like me. But seriously, I have to go."

"The G.G.B is going to pass."

That caused Ruby to freeze in her tracks.

"What?" She asked, turning to Jaune.

Jaune pulled out his phone and unlocked it before handing it to Ruby.

'GENOCIDE TO BE GRANTED?'

"What is this," Ruby asked.

"Just watch."

'Well, there you have it folks. Before we even had a chance to have our morning coffee, the Senate announced a vote to call for the execution for the Grimm. This vote has been in discussion for three months and appears to have progressing behind closed doors and is set for a very one sided vote. This bill calls for mandatory testing of all US citizens and any who are found to be Grimm will be executed. The vote is set to take place within the next three days as military checkpoints have already begun preparations in areas like San Francisco, Los Angelos, New York City, and other major cities.'

Ruby backed up until she hit the wall and slid down until she was sitting on the bathroom floor.

"This is a nightmare… isn't it?"

"No… it's not."

"…Home. I have to get home." Ruby said, feeling like she was living in a nightmare she was bound to wake up from.

Walking up to the door, Ruby opened it and took two steps down the hall when Jaune yelled, "They are going to kill us Ruby!"

Ruby froze where she stood, feeling that anxiety return as she continued to hear Jaune's speech.

"That bill is going to pass and they are going to slaughter every last Grimm in the country. You heard that video, they're already setting up checkpoints in New York like the vote has already been passed."

"And what do you expect me to do?"

"I am not expecting you to do anything except survive."

"What are you talk—"

"I'm leaving."

"Leaving?"

"I got into contact with a group of The Light in Burlington and they agreed to help me get across the border and take me to Liberteria."

"Well… that's good for you…" Ruby said.

"You should come with me."

His sudden request surprised Ruby, "What? No!"

"Ruby—"

"You expect me to just go with someone I don't even know across three states to meet with a group of reported terrorists… to try and cross the border. That is like winning the 'get shot on sight' bingo."

"Staying here would result in the same 'win' Ruby."

Ruby had nothing to say to that… he was right.

"Look, I was not expect you to say yes right away. Just… let me give you something."

Ruby watched Jaune as he pulled out a piece of paper and a pen and wrote something down and handed it to Ruby.

"Take it," He said.

Ruby grabbed the paper and read its contents.

"What is this?"

"It's the address to a park near my house. I am going to pack and prepare for the trip and will be at that spot at 9:15. Then, I will stay for only fifteen minutes and then… I'm gone," Jaune turned to walk away from the "You can try to hide all you want, but one day you will mess up… we all do eventually."

Jaune turned and nodded to Ruby before walking around the corner.

"…What am I gonna do?" Ruby asked.

"I don't know, Ruby. What are you gonna do?"

Hearing that familiar voice sent chills down Ruby's spine as she turned around to see Ciel and her posse appear from a hallway corner, with Ciel holding her phone and filming Shana, "We were gonna tease you for being in the boy's room but after hearing all of that garbage… oh how it got so much better."

"Ciel—"

"What will dear old daddy think when his daughter is one of those disgusting creatures?"

"Ciel, you don't want to do this," Ruby said.

"Why don't we give dear old dad a call," Ciel asked as she put the phone to her ear.

And then… it happened…

Ruby raised her hand straight at Ciel, who was unfazed by it, "Oh? Are you gonna attack me now, you pathetic little…"

"_Electrica_."

Suddenly the phone began to spark out right next to Ciel's head, causing her to scream and throw the phone to the ground. As soon as the phone made contact with the ground, the screen cracked open and the small collection of electricity flew to Ruby's hand, her eyes black and red and filled with anger. Now… they were at Ruby's mercy.

_4:25 PM_

"So how did the 415H go?"

"Qrow took care of it."

"Do you still want to go out tonight," Raven asked.

"You have no idea," Taiyang smiled.

"Are you sure that Ruby will be okay all by herself?"

"She can handle anything. She's a Rose and a Xiao Long."

4:27 PM

"No Ruby please," Ciel begged as she fell to her knees as Ruby slowly moved towards her with her hand aimed directly at her former friend.

_I wanted to do it. God knows how badly I wanted to just send that bolt right at her. But something stayed my hand. Maybe it was that little bit of sympathy I had for her. But whatever it was made me stay my hand._

Ruby shifted her arm to the right and released, sending the electricity into the wall.

Ciel shrieked as she expected the worst, but slowly opened her eyes to see what had happened. Realizing that she was allowed to go, she stood up and screamed, "Y-You're a freak, Rose. A freak!"

After that, Ciel ran off and with Ruby's secret revealed.

"…What have I done…"

_You know that moment when you feel like you have made one of the biggest mistakes of your life? That was how I was feeling at that moment. And I was just starting down a long road of anxiety._

**_Please leave a review and let me know what you all think of it so far._**


	5. Chapter 5: Start of the Journey

_December 2nd, 2040_

_7:35 PM_

Qrow was sleeping in his bed after the events that occurred earlier that day when he was awakened by the sound of his phone buzzing.

"Qrow speaking…"

'Branwen!'

Hearing the sound of his commissioner caused Qrow to groan as he sat up.

"What?"

'GET ASS DOWN HERE NOW!'

"What happened now… hello?" Qrow looked at his phone to see that the police chief had already hung up.

Qrow sighed as he got out of bed and got dressed.

'Wonder what stick is up his ass this time…'

_8:00 PM_

"If you will let me explain—"

"I don't need an explanation from you, Sergeant. What I need if for you to answer the goddamn question."

"No, she isn't."

Taiyang and Raven walked in, still in their casual outfits as they too had the same concerning looks.

"Chief," Taiyang said.

"Oh good, the entire family is here. Now, Sergeant Rose, would you please tell your in law what I asked you."

"He's been asking me for the last fifteen minutes how long I've known that Ruby is a Grimm."

"What?"

"I was enjoying my day off with my wife when I get a call from Mr. Soleil. He starts threatening to sue the Grimm Task Force after his daughter came home, screaming that she was almost killed by your niece and your daughter, lieutenant. I suggest that you explain why I am here instead of home."

"And I have been telling you, chief, that Ruby has been bullied by Ciel ever since elementary school. This is probably just some new type of prank that she thought of."

"Well, if you are so sure about it, then go… get… her. Officer Branwen, go prepare a Grimm test."

"Sir, I—"

A stern look silenced Raven, who walked away to go perform the task given to her.

"Look, I don't want this to be true either, but if it turns out that she is a Grimm, I expect you two to do your jobs."

Taiyang and Qrow looked at each other, giving equal concerning looks.

"Can I trust you two to do your duties?"

"Sir, yes sir," The brother in laws said in unison.

"Dismissed. Bring her here and we can get this done quickly."

Taiyang and Qrow proceeded out of the office, but Taiyang looked to his right and saw Qrow had become Summer.

_"You cannot stop what has begun…"_

"What?"

"I said let's just get this done," Qrow said.

"Right…"

_8:24 PM_

The two brothers sat in silence as they drove towards Taiyang's house.

"It's going to be fine, I'm sure that this is going to just be some prank."

"…"

Qrow looked at Taiyang to see his face was somewhat determined with a sense of realization.

"What?"

"When Raven and I came home to grab my coat, Ruby seemed as though she was scared about something. Plus her hands were scraped."

"Tai… think about what you are saying."

"It can't be a coincidence Qrow…"

"Look, this week is stressful on everyone. Let's just call Ruby, tell her we need her to come down to the precinct to answer a question or two, she does the test and then we grab some milkshakes on the way home."

Taiyang looked at Qrow and could see how hard Qrow was denying the possible truth, "Yeah… okay."

Pulling up to the house, Taiyang and Qrow walked inside to see Penny on the ground, destroyed.

"Oh my god…" Qrow said as he pulled out his pistol.

"RUBY?!" Taiyang asked, pulling out his pistol as well.

Nothing.

"Search the house, I'll try and access Penny's recordings," Taiyang said as he walked up to Penny.

Qrow nodded and proceed to search the house. Opening the bathroom door, Qrow saw Ruby's stuff was missing.

"I count one toothbrush and toothpaste missing in the bathroom."

Moving towards Ruby's room, Qrow hesitantly opened the door and barged inside.

"Tai, get in here!"

Taiyang ran inside to see what Qrow saw… nothing.

"She's gone…"

Taiyang was lost in his own thoughts as he saw the broken picture frame face down on the floor. Walking up to the frame, Tai picked it up and flipped it over and saw that the photo of Summer was missing…

"Ruby…" Taiyang muttered.

"Her bag is gone… along with a few pairs of clothes. Tai?"

"…Let's go see Penny's recording."

The two walked back into the kitchen and used a cable that Penny came with and manually plugged her into the wall. Within seconds, Penny had woken up and seemed very concerned.

'Miss Rose, I— oh, Master Xiao Long and Mr. Rose, something terrible has happened.'

"We know, access your recordings to the last interaction that you had with Ruby."

Penny nodded and projected an image of Ruby.

_'Miss Rose, where are you going?'_

_'I'm just going out Penny.'_

_'My scanners indicate that you have multiple items of suspicion, Miss Ruby.'_

_'Penny—'_

_'I am currently scanning items of apparel, hygienic supplies, and a form of literature that was denounced illegal in the last seven years. My calculations suspect that you are trying to run away from this establishment and that is something that I cannot allow. I will report this to Master Xiao Long.'_

_"Electrica."_

The brothers watched in horror and disbelief as Ruby's eyes changed to that of a Grimm. They saw only a few more seconds before the recording had ended and Penny was disabled.

Taiyang walked away from the video and placed a hand over his mouth, tears in his eyes as he was still processing what he had just watched.

"We have to call this in, Tai."

"Not until we know where she may have gone. She was trying to leave in a panic, so she may have left something for us."

"Try tracking her phone."

Taiyang pulled out his phone and opened up the tracking app and saw that Ruby did have her phone still.

"She's on the move. Fast, perhaps she is in a car."

"Did she use an app?"

Taiyang then opened up Ruby's bank account and saw that about fifteen dollars was used to drive her to… Elmhurst Park.

"Got the location. Based on the recording she left… thirty minutes ago. It looks like its a couple miles from here, so we can catch up. Go get in the car, I'll call Raven,"

Qrow ran to the door, but turned to look at Taiyang, "We'll figure this all out, okay Tai?"

"Okay, now go."

As Qrow left, Taiyang began to search for Raven's contact.

_"You can't stop her…"_

"Not now…" Tai said, trying to ignore Summer's words.

_"You must let go…"_

"There it is," Tai said as he called Raven.

'And?'

"I need you to go to Elmhurst Park. Ruby is a Grimm."

'What?'

"Just, please Raven…"

'Okay, I'll head over right now.'

Taiyang hung up the phone and looked at Penny.

"Penny, take care of the house."

'Affirmative. What is to happen to Miss Rose?'

"…I don't know, Penny."

Taiyang then ran back to the car and the two sped off towards their destination.

_9:03 PM_

Snow covered the streets of New York City. Christmas was fast approaching the world. Kids were begging their parents for the newest toy or video game, parents were searching for what remained after Black Friday sales ended, and Ruby was losing her mind.

_I remember sitting there, processing everything that had occurred prior to the current situation. How did I get to this moment? What was in store for me? A thousand questions flooding my brain with no possible answers. I was so caught up that I nearly jumped at the automated message that the cab made._

'Thank you for using InstaCabs, the transportation of the future. Please take caution in stepping out of the vehicle'

Grabbing her bag, Ruby stepped out of the cab and stared at the entrance to the park. It wasn't gated or locked, the only thing stopping people was a small chain with a 'Closed' sign at the center.

A breeze caught Ruby off guard as she shivered. Pulling the strings on her hoodie and buttoning up her jacket, Ruby tightened both of the straps of her bag and proceeded inside of the park.

It was so dark with the only sources of light being lampposts that were about ten feet apart from one another. Rounding a corner, Ruby reached a railing that faced a small pond that seemed newly added and a small water shooter system beside it. Looking at her map application, Ruby saw that she was at the center of the park.

"Jaune? Jaune, I'm here."

Ruby's whispers were met with silence. Ruby walked up and placed her hands on the cold metal railing and stared at the small pond. Its surface had a small ring of ice brushing against the hard concrete, but the water was still pitch black reflection of the night sky, showing a near perfect reflection of Ruby.

_I remember thinking to myself. I thought of what I was gonna do if Jaune didn't show up. I didn't really have a choice anymore. I had to leave. I had to leave before the G.G.B is passed. Dad would understand… right? I had to believe that._

Not wanting to stare at her own reflection anymore, Ruby looked around to see a bench facing the pond. Deciding to take a seat and wait for a few minutes, Ruby's heart felt like she had finished a marathon.

*BZZZT*

With her phone still in her hand, Ruby looked at the notification that was now on her screen.

'Missed Call: Dad'

'Ruby, pick up the phone NOW'

_I never wanted this to happen… I am sorry dad… I am sorry about mom and I am sorry about me. I hope that one day, you can understand that I had to do what I did… not just because I didn't want to be imprisoned. But because I didn't want to die._

_Then it hit me… it was all because of this fucking phone. I was so caught up in panic that I didn't even think straight and it cost me everything._

Rage engulfed Ruby like a water and salt. Standing up, Ruby screamed as she threw the phone with all her might. She watched as the phone flew through the air and landed right in the center of the pond, sinking down to its dark depths.

But then… she realized what she had just done. It was at that moment that she realized that she had just thrown one of the only items of her mother's into the pond like a piece of trash.

"I… I'm so sorry, mom…"

Ruby felt a hand on her shoulder, making her deliver a swift elbow to the chest of her alleged attacker.

"AGH!" They cried.

"Back up, I don't want to hurt you," Ruby said, as she got into a defensive stance her father taught her.

"Jesus Ruby, it's me!"

"Jaune?"

He wore a black puffy jacket and denim jeans and a beanie. On his back was a backpack similar to Shana's except his had a lighter look to it.

"God… you pack a nasty elbow," He groaned, "what was all that about?"

"I'd rather not talk about it…"

Jaune could see in her eyes that she was hurting. Placing his hand on her shoulder once again, he nodded.

"I get it…"

"I'm sorry, I just… I feel like I'm losing my mind."

"So… I take it you're here because you want to come with?"

"I don't have a choice anymore…"

"What do you mean?"

"Ciel… she heard us and I…"

"How?"

"She was waiting for me to come out of the bathroom as some stupid prank. She was going to call my father and I… lost control."

"What do you mean you—"

"When she started to call my father, I used the electric spell and destroyed her phone. I don't know what I was thinking… I just… a thousand things were going through my head. They still are! And most of them make me feel like I am in a nightmare."

"So… two Grimm on the run days before they call for our extinction. How dramatic…" Jaune said, "I will admit, the road ahead won't be easy but it's better than waiting to die. Are you ready for this?"

James looked to Ruby and extended his hand. Ruby stared at it and slowly began to reach for it, when the sudden they heard, "G.D.T.F, PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR!"

Ruby and Jaune held their hands up high as they saw the two G.D.T.F members in front of them.

"Dad?" Ruby asked.

"How did you find us," Jaune asked.

"The station received a call that Ruby attacked another student at school with magic. When we returned home to bring you in for a test, we found Penny was destroyed and tracked you here."

"You left your fucking computer open with the address?!" James asked.

"I…"

"Enough!" Taiyang yelled, "Ruby Rose, you and your accomplice are under arrest under the suspicion of being Grimm. You will be taken to the nearest G.D.T.F Department where you will be tested, and if you are found to be an Grimm, you will be… you will be taken to an institution where you will treated. Raven, will you please call the other task force members to come with the restraints and transport?"

"Tai—"

"Now!"

"Yes, sir…" Raven said as she walked out of sight.

"Dad…"

"I thought something was different when you came home. The way you acted, the scrapes on your hands… now it all makes sense."

"Dad, they are going to kill us."

"They aren't going to kill you, Ruby," Taiyang said.

"The G.G.B is going to be voted on within the week and if it passes, then thousands like Jaune and I will be killed."

Ruby looked towards Qrow, who seemed as though he was having conflicted feelings.

"Uncle Qrow… please…"

"I'm sorry, kid…"

"Ruby, you don't have a choice here. You are going to come with us and—"

"No."

This response seemed to surprise both Qrow and Taiyang. The two then heard rustling behind them and turned to see Raven approaching. During that time, Jaune looked down and saw that there was sand underneath the bench that they were currently standing in.

"Get ready…" Jaune whispered.

Ruby looked out of the corner of her eye to see that Jaune had dug his right foot into the sand and knew what he was gonna do.

"I called. They should arrive here within twelve minutes."

"Agh…" Ruby groaned, gaining the attention of everyone.

"What is it," Qrow asked.

"I think a snowflake got into my eye. Can I… Can I lower my arms to clean it?"

"… Just keep your hands where we can see them and be quick about it." Taiyang said.

Ruby lowers her arms and rubbed both of her eyes. Jaune watched as Ruby put both of her hands on her eyes and began to rub them slowly. Taking that as a sign that she was ready, Jaune kicked his foot upward, sending sand at the three officers.

"_Lumen_!" Jaune yelled.

Lowering her hands, Ruby saw all three of them holding their eyes in pain.

"We have to go, now!" Jaune said.

"Ruby!" Taiyang yelled as he continued to groan in pain.

"I'm sorry dad…"

_After that, Jaune and I ran. I ran out of the park and left dad and the others behind. I remember looking at James and seeing the fear in his Grimm eyes as we sprinted as fast as we could out of the entrance of the park._

Stopping at the entrance for a quick breath, James looked back where we came.

"Okay… We have thirty-seconds until that spell wears off and only nine minutes until that patrol gets here."

"What are we gonna do?" Ruby asked.

"They can't find us easily if they can't track us." James said.

Turning back to the entrance, Jaune crouched down and placed his hands on both of their separate footprints.

"_Abscondere pedes_…"

Ruby watched as Jaune's spell went into effect. The snow that was crushed under their feet began to rise up again, leaving an untouched pathway into the park.

Jaune stood back up and turned to look down the street. As they stood there, Ruby could hear it too.

"They're coming."

"Ruby, you ready?"

Ruby looked to Jaune and nodded.

"Let's go."


	6. Chapter 6: A Friend

_December 2nd, 2040_

_9:45 PM_

Police and G.D.T.F officers were covering the park, searching for clues as to where their escaped targets may have gone.

Meanwhile, the three out of uniform officers sat in the center, ashamed of their failure to incapacitate Ruby and James.

"Uh sirs and ma'am?"

The three looked up to see Officer Derek approaching them.

"What is it Derek?"

"We can't find where they went, sir…"

"Go try and access the cameras within a three block radius."

"Okay, Commander Branwen, I also sent to inform you that the Chief wants to see you back at the precinct as soon as possible."

The three knew that they were walking into the inferno, so Taiyang stood up first, "I will go by myself. Raven, Qrow, get suited up at the nearest precinct and help track Ruby and her accomplice down."

"Shall we put up an BOLO for Miss Rose and an unknown accomplice sir," Derek asked.

"No… not yet, just keep looking for them," Taiyang said as he walked back to his car.

"Tai," Raven said, "can we talk?"

"Sure."

"Hey Qrow, I took your car from the precinct. Here," Raven said as she tossed him his spare that he leaves in the same spot.

Catching his keys, Qrow nodded and proceeded to his car to drive towards the nearby precinct for some gear.

Meanwhile, Taiyang and Raven stood next to Tai's car and away from the other cops.

"Are you sure you want to go in there alone?"

"It's my fault… I should have known about Ruby."

"No, that isn't true—"

"I'll talk to you after I get back."

"Tai—"

"I have to go," Taiyang ignored Raven as he got into the car and drove off.

"TAI," Raven yelled.

Qrow walked up and placed his hand on Raven's shoulder, "Let him go, Rave. He needs some time to himself. Do you need a ride home?"

"No… I need a monitor and those cameras ASAP," Raven said as she walked back towards the other officers.

Qrow sighed, "This is gonna be a long night…"

_10:02 AM_

As Taiyang walked into the precinct, he was met with looks and glares from his fellow officers as he walked in the direction of Police Chief Schnee's office.

"Head of the Grimm Task Force… not for long," He heard.

"Can't believe that Ruby is a Grimm."

Turning that familiar corner towards the office, Taiyang saw Summer standing next to the door, but walked inside without saying a word, instead hearing the belligerent shouting of his chief as he spoke to someone on the phone.

"No, Mr. Soleil, I promise that this issue will be taken of momentarily as Mr. Xiao Long has just arrived," Jacques slammed his phone down on the handle, hanging up the phone, "I take it that you have your daughter here to avoid a potential disaster."

"No, sir."

"No? Why where is she then?"

"Upon arriving at my home, we have our android had been disabled and had in her records a video of Ruby using a spell. We tracked her to a park where she met up with another Grimm and the two managed to escape before we could capture them."

Jacques stared at Taiyang for moments, with every word Tai said causing Jacques' face to contort into both anger and fear.

"My god…"

"My men and the night shift are working to try and find them. They ran off on foot, so they couldn't have gotten far."

"For your sake, I suggest you hurry and find them now. I have managed to keep the reporters at bay for now, but if you can't find her before sunrise, then I have no choice but to release this info, got it?"

"Yes, sir," Taiyang said as he began to leave.

"And Tai, you realize that once this is over, there will be consequences."

Taiyang nodded as he walked out of the office to see Summer again.

_"You cannot stop her…"_

"I don't have time for you."

_"You must let her go… or it shall only end in pain and death."_

Taiyang stood still for only a moment, taking in the words that Summer said. But when he looked back to her, she was gone…

_12:02 AM_

_God it was so cold… Jaune and I had managed to stay relatively warm as we continued on through the alleyways and shortcuts of New York. But with every turn we made, Jaune used the cloaking spell which was taking a toll on him from excessive use of magic…_

Currently hiding in an alleyway, Ruby and Jaune were hiding behind a dumpster on the side of an apartment building, hiding from the light as an G.D.T.F patrol passed them. Once they saw the floodlight pass them and felt that they were in the clear of the patrol, Jaune started to get up.

"We're clear…"

As Ruby began to get up, she saw Jaune was using the wall as support.

"I think that we should rest for a bit… you're dealing with Grimm Fatigue."

"Grimm what?"

"Grimm Fatigue. You're exhausted from using too much magic. My dad said that is almost always how he caught runaways," Ruby said, "we are safe here for now. Just take a seat."

"Fine…" Jaune said as he slumped back onto the ground. Looking up at the sky, Jaune felt the snow coming down on them hard, "I wish we could make a fire…"

Just the thought of more warmth sent shivers down Ruby's spine, "Let's not think… about that… So… if we get out of New York. Where are… are we going to next?"

"The plan is to head for Haven."

"Wait Haven? Why?"

"A week ago, I received a message from The Light. They responded and said that their closest contact to us is in Haven."

"How? After the March on Beacon Street—"

"They said that he is a trusted ally and friend of the leader of Burlington's faction. He has been helping other Grimm reach Liberteria for the last four years and will be expecting us to arrive within the next day or so."

"Okay, if there is someone in Haven who can help us, then how will we be getting there?"

"The plan was going to be leaving the city by taking the line that stops in Haven before heading to Haven on an overnight train before sunrise. However due to recent, shall we say, developments… I don't think that option is available anymore. By now, our faces are probably all over the city. So… I hope you're ready for quite the walk ahead for us."

"…No."

"No what?"

"We're going to leave by the taking the train."

"Look, I know we don't have a lot of options but a suicide mission isn't the direction I'm thinking of going," Jaune said.

"The G.D.T.F and N.Y.P.D won't go public about us, not yet."

"Ruby, if you have some future reading spell, please let me know. How do you know they haven't already," Jaune asked.

"Because… I am the daughter of an G.D.T.F lieutenant."

Jaune's seemed to catch on to what Ruby was saying as he began to speak,"…And if it came out that you are an Elf, then the blowback would be a nightmare. The media would attack the commissioner like a mob. But wait… they would also go after your dad too."

Shana's smile vanished as she looked back out of the alleyway, quickly scanning for a patrol before sitting back behind the side of the dumpster.

"If we get caught, they will go after him. If we make it out and they reveal who I am, they will go after him. Either way, he will be attacked and I'd rather not be around when that happens," Shana said.

_I may have sounded like I didn't care, but deep down, I was mortified by what I had said. Because at the same time, I knew I was right. I destroyed my entire family's life… because of what I am._

"Still, what you are suggesting is way too risky."

"Every G.D.T.F officer knows what we are now, Jaune. We're sitting in an alleyway, hiding from the cops. If we stay, we will eventually get caught or freeze to death. If we try for the train station, we can only hope for a chance."

Jaune sighed as he pulled his sleeve up, revealing his watch, "12:17 AM… What's the closest train station?"

"The closest station that can take us to Haven would be… Grand Central."

"Of course it is… Okay, we can get through Woodside, take the ferry across to Manhattan and hope to make it by morning."

"Okay… Yeah okay, I think that I am good to go," Jaune said as he got up, "Let's go."

"Jaune."

Jaune looked in Ruby's direction and saw the red and blue lights slowly coming into view from the other side of the alleyway.

"Come on, stay quiet and keep moving," Jaune said as the two snuck away.

_1:12 AM_

Qrow was in his house, gearing up for his patrol. He had his vest, his coat, his pants and accessories on his body when he heard Raven on his radio.

'Sergeant Rose, what is your status? Over.'

"Gearing up and preparing my patrol in Woodside, over."

'10-4. We will be sending additional officers to your sector when they return from their search.'

"Yeah, yeah…" Qrow said as he set his radio down on his bed.

Looking over to his shelf, Qrow saw a photo of his sister. She was sitting in a hospital bed, holding a recently born Ruby in her arms and a smile on her face. On both sides of her were Qrow and Taiyang with similar smiles.

"Hey sis… I wish that we could have stayed in that moment. When everything made sense… Something has happened and Ruby… Ruby is not like what you remember. She's different… but not. I have a job to follow through, but I promised and I… I wish that you were here to help me figure this out."

Qrow placed his hand on the frame and sighed, "I'll see you soon, sis."

With that, Qrow grabbed his radio and walked out of his house to find his niece.

_1:30 AM_

_As the night drew on, more patrols entered the streets. As far as I could tell, dad called every G.D.T.F officer to search for us. I would say I was flattered how hard he was looking for us, but given the circumstances, I was terrified every single second we were even close to being in plain sight. We kept going through alleyways and kept covering our tracks, taking turns after Jaune taught me how to cast the spell, which very soon took its toll on us._

As the night drew on and both Jaune and Ruby were exhausted and had only made it to Woodside. Exhausted, Ruby and Jaune were currently hiding in another alleyway, this one between a bakery and a pizzeria, keeping themselves warm from the oven steam that was shooting out the side of the building.

"How far… How have we gotten?" Ruby asked, her voice mumbling from the cold.

"We're on Greenpoint… I think… we're half way."

Ruby shivered again as a chilling wind swept through the alleyway. Ruby placed her hand in front of the pipe which had steam coming out to keep warm.

"We have a few hours until sunrise," Jaune said as he looked at Ruby, "you're freezing."

"I-I'm fine."

"I think… we can manage the rest of the way without magic. We are pretty… pretty far from where we started."

"My uncle… My uncle lives in this area… it's possible they came here to… to… look for us…"

"Shit… okay… let's go…"

"Jaune—"

"The longer we stay here, the bigger the possibly of being caught. Come on, we can rest on the ferry. It's going to start departures in four hours," Jaune said, extending his hand to Ruby.

Ruby grabbed his hand and was pulled up from her spot. Putting her bag back on, the two proceeded out of the alleyway. As they slowly crossed the street, they saw a car turn the corner, and Ruby recognized the car instantly.

"Jaune… run!"

The two began to sprint as fast as they could when Jaune tripped, falling to the ground.

"Jaune! Get up!" Ruby said as she picked Jaune up and carried him by the arm.

By then, it was too late. The car pulled in front of her and Jaune and they had no where left to run.

"I'm sorry…" Jaune said.

"Shut up, we can make it."

Ruby, determined to get Jaune to safety, turned around to run back into the alley when a voice called out to her.

"Ruby!"

Ruby froze dead in her tracks. She knew, deep down, that it was the end for them. Slowly turning with Jaune still weighing her down, Ruby watched as Qrow emerged from his car, wearing his G.D.T.F uniform.

"My god Ruby… you look horrible."

'Sergeant Rose, do you have any update on Ruby and her assailant?' Raven asked through Qrow's radio.

Qrow grabbed his radio and leaned into it.

"Uncle Qrow please…"

Qrow looked into Ruby's eyes and saw not hatred or anger as most Grimm he has encountered… he saw the same fear as that boy he arrested just hours earlier.

"Please…" Ruby said again.

'I repeat, Sergeant Rose, is there any updates on your patrol?'

"…Negative, I don't think they're in Woodside, proceeding to Sunnyside."

'10-4 we will reroute a few cruisers to do a final sweep before heading over to Sunnyside.'

Turning off his radio, Qrow looked at the two kids and chuckled, "You two look awful. Get in quickly before you freeze to death."

Ruby, seeing no other option, walked towards the cruiser and helped Jaune into the backseat of her uncle's car before getting into the passenger seat. Starting the car, the three just sat there as the heat started up, causing Ruby and Jaune to sigh in relief.

"Where were you two going?"

"Is the BOLO out yet?"

"Not yet, your father was given until sunrise to find you two or else the chief will be forced to release one."

"I told you Jaune."

Jaune responded by weakly giving a thumbs up.

"What's up with him," Qrow asked.

"He has Grimm Fatigue."

"I see… Just rest kid, you'll be up and at it again in about an hour or so."

"Rest in a car with an G.D.T.F officer… that's a… good one…"

Ruby turned to argue with Jaune but saw that he had alway passed out from exhaustion.

"You trust him?"

Ruby stared at Jaune with a weak smile on her face, "Yes… I do for some weird reason…"

"I swear if I had a nickel for every time one of these little shits blinded me, I… sorry… I still just… I can't wrap my head around all of this."

"…Uncle Qrow?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are you helping us? We're Grimm. You could go to jail for helping us."

"…Today, we got a call. Kid killed his dog in front of his parents. Total accident. When we arrived, the father had blood on his shirt and his knuckles seemed bruised, but Tai didn't seem to care. When we saw the kid, he was beaten and barricaded inside of his room. The entire way to the Institution, we listened to the boy beg us to let him go home and say that it was an accident. When we got to the Institution, the security personnel took him inside and then those doors shut, and that was it. I guess just hearing that kid begging us to let him go home… I would rather help you leave and deal with the consequences than imagine what you would go through inside of that Institution."

"I wish dad saw it that way…"

"Tai is dealing with this week how he always has and that is the hard part. He always tries to take this week on by himself every year and I think that this just made him snap."

"So it's my fault…"

"No, kid, it is not your fault."

"Uncle Qrow, I am a Grimm. My life is practically over now and I dragged all of you down with me. I'm sorry," Ruby said through sniffles from both the cold and tears.

"…The only reason that we joined was because of you, you know."

"What?"

"Your father and I. We joined the G.D.T.F because we keeping you safe was our top priority. We joined because we wanted you to grow up safe, and now, I am still doing that. Even if it costs me my freedom, I will do it to make sure you have a decent chance of escape."

Ruby felt the her eyes beginning to grow heavy as her body began to give into her exhaustion.

"Why don't you get some rest? We have some time before we get there."

"Okay…and Uncle Qrow?"

"Yeah kid," Qrow asked.

"…Thank you."

Qrow looked at Ruby and saw that she had fallen asleep.

"Sure thing kid. Sure thing…"

'I made you a promise, Summer… I made you a promise.'


	7. Chapter 7: Catching a Train

_December 3rd, 2040_

_4:42 AM_

Hours have passed and the G.D.T.F still has yet to find Ruby and Jaune. The constant wild goose chase was starting to get to some of the officers, mainly the two who are responsible for getting Ruby back.

Taiyang was grabbing some coffee from himself and Raven in the empty break room when he was approached by Chief Schnee.

"I see that you have time for coffee Lieutenant. Can I assume that you have your daughter in chains?"

"No, sir but—"

"You had until sunrise, and would you look at that," Jacques said as he looked outside, "The sun is rising."

"Chief, I just need—"

"What you need is to pray that you find her soon or else I will make sure Sergeant Branwen ends up as a fucking crossing guard until she's in the fucking ground!"

It took everything that Tai had to keep his calm as he walked past his chief to continue working. As he walked down the hall, he could not see her, but could hear Summer.

"_The bird carries the flower…_"

Opening the door into the department, Taiyang handed Raven a cup and she gladly took it, "Thanks."

"We better hurry. Schnee's stick got further up the valley…"

"Well, if he wants to search through the last ten hours of over a hundred cameras, then he can go ahead and join me," Raven said.

As Taiyang stood there, that phrase echoed in his mind.

'The bird… the bird carries the rose…'

"Hey, have you heard anything from Qrow?"

"No, last we heard from him, he was checking out Sunnyside."

"Who did we send to check out Sunnyside?"

"That would be Officers Fox and Yatsuhashi sir!"

"Call them in. Ask if they met up with Qrow."

Raven seemed confused, but did so anyways, "Officers Yatsuhashi and Fox, please respond."

'10-4, comms. How can we assist?'

"Did you come into contact with Sergeant Qrow Rose during your search in Sunnyside?"

'Negative ma'am, it was just us and we found zero leads.'

Hearing this concerned the two officers.

"Raven, go back to the park and follow Qrow."

"What's going on?"

"Call it a hunch. Hurry, we don't have much time!"

Raven nodded and proceed to go back to the recordings near the park.

"Okay, there he is… he's heading towards his home…"

_5:12 AM_

Taiyang was trying to call Qrow, only to have no answer, when Raven screamed, "TAI!"

Taiyang ran over to Raven, "What?"

"I have good and bad news. For the good news, I found where Ruby and her accomplice are going."

"Okay?"

"Now for the bad news…"

_5:15 AM_

"QROW DID WHAT," Jacques yelled.

"Look, we know where he is taking them. I need you to call Manhattan's G.D.T.F and let them know that they have to hurry."

"Dear god, I expected you to say that she got away… BUT THIS! THIS IS A PR NIGHTMARE!"

"Sir—"

"Go. Go and get that damn girl NOW! I have waited long enough, I have to post a BOLO Taiyang. You better manage to get her and Qrow, or so help me…GO!"

Taiyang ran out of the precinct and drove towards the only logical location for them to go.

Meanwhile, Raven quickly sat down and tuned the radio to all channels.

"Attention all G.D.T.F officers, Sergeant Rose is assisting two wanted Grimm. I repeat, Sergeant Rose is harboring Grimm."

_5:11 AM_

Ruby was shaken awake to the sounds of car horns and people walking by. It was all nearly overwhelming to Ruby as she woke up. Looking to see who it was that woke her up, she was somewhat glad to see that it was Jaune. What surprised Ruby was that instead of his outfit from the previous night, Jaune was wearing dark blue jeans, a white t-shirt and a black zip up hoodie.

"Ruby, it's time to get up."

"Where are we?"

"We're at Grand Central."

Ruby slowly stepped out of the car and saw the massive structure that she stood in front of and could not help but be fascinated by the old building.

"Wow…"

"Get out now, fascinate later," Jaune said as he handed Ruby her bag.

Ruby rolled her eyes and yawned as she put the bag on her back and zipped up the straps. Looking up the steps in front of them, Ruby saw Qrow walking down to them, holding a small envelope.

"Ah good, you're awake. You two have the first ride out of here. It departs in twenty minutes.I can assume that since it has been all night with no leads as to where you two are, the G.D.T.F will be forced to release a BOLO for you two. So I will not inform you that there is still the conductor android that can cut the emergency brakes to the LightTrain."

"And in return, we will not inform you that we may have to destroy said android to ensure we make it," Jaune said.

Qrow smiled as he pulled out his wallet and took out every bit of cash he had before handing it towards Ruby, along with the two tickets. It was around two hundred dollars.

"Take it."

"Uncle Qrow, I can't-"

"You can and you will. You will need it to get to Burlington."

Knowing that no was not an option when Qrow said that, Ruby reluctantly took the money.

"Look Ruby… things will get better in time. But I will admit, I… I am going to miss you," Qrow said.

Ruby, with tears in her eyes, hugged her uncle tightly.

"Send Tai and I a postcard, okay?"

"Yes hehe…Yes, of course I will…" Ruby chuckled as she wiped her eyes

"And Jaune, you take care of her, you hear me? Or I swear, I will make you know why I was feared during my golden days of being an G.D.T.F officer."

"Y-Yes sir," Jaune said, extremely intimidated.

"I can take care of myself, you know."

Qrow smiled, "I know you can, kiddo. Now go, before I change my mind."

Qrow watched as both Jaune and Ruby ran up the steps into Grand Central before his smile vanished.

"Goodbye Ruby…" Vincent said as he got back into his car, knowing fully well what was going to happen once he turned on his radio.

'Attention G.D.T.F officers, we are en route to Grand Central. I want the Grimm taken alive! If you come into contact with Sergeant Rose, incapacitate him.'

'Affirmative.'

Qrow sighed as he pulled his holstered gun off of his person and then removed his badge and set them on the seat beside him… and waited.

_5:20 AM_

Taking their first steps into the train station, Ruby could not help but be amazed at the old interior architecture.

"We made it."

"Let's not celebrate just yet. We still have to make it onto the train. Come on."

Ruby and Jaune walked down to the main lobby of the station and sat down at a nearby bench.

"Okay. We have about twenty minutes to find that android. Any ideas?" Jaune asked.

"It's a LightTrain, so the conductor android will most likely be working from a control station on the same platform as the train itself. It's like RC cars."

"What's that?"

"Nothing… What matters is that we have to take care of that android quickly and efficiently. If they announce emergency procedures and the android pulls the emergency brakes, then the train will lockdown instantly and we will be trapped. The door will most likely be in view of a camera, but if we time it right, we can get inside before it sees us."

"You're turning into a full blown mastermind. By the way, in case you wanna change into something fresh, there is a bathroom right over there."

"I don't think we have time for that…" Ruby said as she looked at the monitor as the she saw the T.V.

"Fuck."

"What?"

Ruby pointed at the TV which was reading breaking news.

'The two Grimm managed to escape and have managed to evade G.D.T.F so far, so the G.D.T.F have released this BOLO, and you would not believe this, but one of the Grimm, this girl, Ruby Rose,' the TV showed a photo of Ruby, 'is the daughter of Queens' head of the G.D.T.F. You can see why they were so hesitant to upload a BOLO until this morning. Her accomplice, now identified as Jaune Arc, are to be considered extremely dangerous. If you see them, please report them to the nearest police officials.'

"Oh fuck…" Jaune said as he stared at the armed security android at the door, "We need to hurry. Come on, just act normal and keep your head down to avoid the cameras."

_5:25 AM_

It was hard, but Ruby and Jaune managed to slip by the security androids without being recognized.

As they walked down the empty escalator, they proceeded towards the Haven train line.

"Why haven't they stopped the trains yet?"

"I don't know… maybe they don't want to stop all the lines unless they are absolutely sure that we're here."

"Look."

Ruby saw what Jaune was pointing at, 'ANDROIDS AND OFFICIAL PERSONNEL ONLY'

"Well, it looks like we found our door. Oh Ruby, you got something in your eye."

"What? No I—"

Jaune stood in front of Ruby, pretending to pick something out of her eye while looking behind her.

"Camera, behind you on the pillar," Jaune whispered, "How's that?"

Ruby turned around, rubbing her right eye and seeing the camera out of the corner of her left, "Yeah, thanks."

Ruby walked right underneath the camera and began leaning against the pillar while James leaned against the wall next to the door.

Getting a nod from Jaune that they were clear, Ruby nodded back and reached her hand up, "_Electricae_."

The camera's red light flickered before sparking and shutting down. Shana watched the electricity wrap around her hand.

"Quick!"

Shana ran over to James and extended her palm onto the pad next to the door. Releasing the jolt of power she took from the camera, Ruby sent it all into the digital pad, causing it to overload and unlock the door.

_I felt like I was in some spy movie or something. Jaune and I quickly got inside and saw the inside of where the androids worked. The inside of the room was very dirty. Cobwebs in almost every corner of the room and there was only a single lightbulb in the room and even that was flickering. I guess since the androids don't need lights, why bother pretending to make them feel comfortable._

The old android conductor looked at the two and saw that Ruby had Grimm eyes.

'You two are not supposed to be here and are currently trespassing. Please remain stationed where you are while I notify security.'

Jaune quickly ran up and placed his hand on the robot's chest, "_Electricae._"

A flash came from within the android's body, his digital eyes flickering and its body shaking as it collapsed to the ground.

'Error… error…'

Once he knew the android was out for the count, Jaune walked up to the console and tried searching for the emergency break.

"Come on, where are you, you metal piece of junk?" Jaune asked.

After taking a minute or two to find it, to no avail, Jaune said, "Let's not risk it… I'm taking down the whole console. Ruby, I think I am gonna need a hand."

"Okay."

Ruby walked up to Jaune before both of them placed their hands on the console.

"Okay, on three, we will say the electric spell. Ready?"

"Yes."

"Okay. Now… one… two… three!"

"_Electricae_!"

The two watched the console as it began to malfunction. Buttons flickered and sparks flew from the box. After a few seconds, the console just completely shut down. Ruby and Jaune pulled their hands away from the console, staring at the electricity that now rested upon their hands.

_As I stared at the raw power, I stared in awe at the sight of this mass amount of energy that wrapped around my hand like a snake as its color changed between blue, white, yellow, purple. It was a beautiful and deadly blend of colors._

"Okay, that should be enough."

Jaune and Ruby cut their connections from the console and each held their own mass of electricity in their hands.

"Okay, Ruby. On three, we shoot the electricity back at the console to overload it and keep it out of commission for a good long while, okay?"

"Got it," Ruby said with a look of determination on her face.

"Okay, on three. One… Two… Three!"

Ruby and Jaune aimed their hands at the console and once Jaune said three, both of them released the power back into the console. The console began to spark and smoke before it released a small electrical burst before the console went completely dark.

"Jaune," Ruby pointed at the lever that was labeled, 'Emergency ONLY'

"I mean… I could have found that," Jaune said as he wrapped his hand on the lever and took a breath, "Okay… here goes nothing…"

_I remember that as I watched Jaune grab a hold of that switch, I was praying to nearly every depiction of God there was and biting my fingernails to the numb, hoping that what we did worked._

Jaune took a final breath before he flipped the switch…

Nothing.

No noises were echoing from outside or from the console itself. Which meant…

"Oh Thank god…" Ruby sighed in relief.

"Yeah, that's in need for a replacement," Jaune chuckled as he grabbed a clipboard and pen.

After he wrote something down, he handed the board to Ruby, "Is this appropriate for the occasion?"

Ruby chuckled at Jaune's joke and nodded.

_5:34 AM_

Qrow stood outside the front entrance of the train station in handcuffs, a black eye, and a cut lip. Behind him were three G.D.T.F officers, one of which had a broken nose and another was holding his arm. Watching as a G.D.T.F vehicle pulled up, he spit out some saliva and blood as he saw Taiyang walking up those steps with hatred in his eyes.

"What happened," Taiyang asked.

"My men spotted him waiting in his car down there and reported it to me. When we tried to ask him to step out, he started an altercation that resulted in… let's say some minor injuries."

"You call these injuries," Qrow chuckled, "I barely felt these. Hey Leo, how's that arm again?"

"Quiet," Leo growled.

Taiyang took a step closer to Qrow with a feeling of hatred and betrayal in his heart, "Why Qrow?"

"Because I promised Summer… and I fulfilled that promise. Unlike you…"

Gritting his teeth, Taiyang said, "Take him back to Queens, we will deal with him later."

'Tai, I was checking the cameras in the station and one of them went out just a few minutes ago.'

"Which line Raven?"

'The Haven line.'

"Shut down the train line, NOW," Taiyang said as he ran into the train station.

"Good luck kids…" Qrow said to himself.

_5:37 AM_

'Attention. Grimm have been reported in the station. Android conductors have halted all LightTrains immediately and are not allowed to release them until further notice.'

"Looks like we were just in time," Jaune said as he looked at the clock on the wall, "speaking of time, our train is leaving in three minutes."

Jaune set the clipboard on the console before the two proceeded out of the control room.

"G.D.T.F FREEZE!"

Ruby and Jaune came to a sudden stop as they looked in the direction of the entrance to the Haven line and saw Taiyang and three G.D.T.F officers were aiming their weapons at the two Grimm eyed children.

_The air was stagnant as we stood there in the haunting silence. As I looked towards Jaune, I could see the beads of sweat that were dripping down his head as he slowly tightened the straps on his bag._

"Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc, you two are under arrest for committing three acts of violence and for performing acts of magic. You are to be sent t—"

'The Haven line shall depart in two minutes.'

_A single second can be all that you need to perform the near impossible._

In that split second interruption, Jaune grabbed Ruby's arm and shouted, "_AER_!"

Within seconds, Jaune and Ruby were basted back towards the end of the corridor and sending the G.D.T.F officers back a good couple of feet. Hitting the wall, Ruby tried to regain herself, but didn't have time as Jaune quickly got up and pulled her by the arm.

"Take them do—"

"No! I want them alive!" Taiyang yelled.

"Don't stop, Ruby!"

Ruby and Jaune ran down another set of stairs to see an identification checkpoint with a group of angry citizens in between them. Jaune and Ruby pushed through and jumped over the checkpoint, signaling an alarm.

'ATTENTION, YOU ARE CURRENTLY TRESSPASSING'

"There it is," Ruby looked up ahead and saw the train was still stationed at the moment.

"We're almost there," She said.

"Hold it right there!"

Looking back, Ruby saw a security android was chasing after them, along with the G.D.T.F officers that were slowly making it through the checkpoint.

"_Electricae_!"

Ruby's spell worked as the electricity was practically ripped out from the android and wrapped around her had. Taking the opportunity, Ruby quickly aimed her hand towards the officers and released the spell, hitting one of the officers and knocking him into a pillar.

"Screw this, take them down!"

"NO!"

As one or two bullets zipped past them, Ruby and Jaune jumped onto the train just as the doors closed, hearing an audible thud behind them against the glass.

"NO!"

Ruby turned around to see Taiyang as his fists were planted against the train door. His tired, bloodshot eyes staring directly at her own as his shaking hands were planted against the train door.

"Ruby, get away from the door," Jaune said.

But Ruby did not hear Jaune as she slowly moved towards the door, watching as her father tried to find some way to open the train doors. Out of options, all he did was pull out his gun and slammed it into the window, a tactic that proved to have no effect. Making direct eye contact with her father, Ruby stared at her father with tears in her eyes as she showed him what she truly was.

"Ruby…" He said, Ruby seeing tears in his own eyes.

"I'm sorry… this is what I am…"

Ruby placed her hand on the door and watched as her father kept trying to open the door.

'Train departing now.'

_Father… I know that you cannot hear the words that I am saying, as much as I wish that you could. I wish that you could have seen how hard I tried. I wish you could remember all the times that we had together… I wish that what had happened did not come to be. But deep down, I knew this was going to end in one of two ways. Please dad. Remember me for who I was pretending to be. And not what I truly am._

"Goodbye," Ruby said.

Ruby could feel the mechanisms of the train begin to vibrate, signaling that the train was beginning to move. Removing her hand from the door, Ruby stepped back and proceeded to walk away from her father, despite his muffled calls to her. Seconds later and his voice was gone.

_5:40 AM_

"GET THAT TRAIN TO STOP!"

Taiyang ran back up the stairs to the control room to see an officer was walking out of the control room with a clipboard.

"Officer, did you find the emergency control switch?"

"The console was destroyed… and this was left on top of the console," The officer handed Taiyang the clipboard.

'NICE TRY!'

Looking at the officer, he handed the board back to her and walked back up the stairs, seeing Summer at the top.

"_She is gone…_"

'No… she isn't…' Taiyang thought to himself.

_5:41 AM_

Ruby looked back as the train continued to leave the station. She had left New York, and everyone she had cared about behind.

"Hey are you okay," Jaune asked.

"Yeah… I just need a minute."

"Yeah, no, of course," James said, "we should probably get some sleep."

Ruby simply nodded in agreement, setting her backpack on the chair beside her and sitting down at the closest window seat. Hearing an audible thudding noise, Ruby looked to see James had chosen the aisle just a few rows behind her to fall asleep in.

Ruby reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out the photo of her mother and held it close to her.

_5:45 AM_

As Qrow sat in the police cruiser, heading towards the Queens' G.D.T.F, he heard the news over the radio.

'Lieutenant Xiao Long, what is the status of the mission, over. Did you manage to capture Ruby and Jaune?'

'…That's a negative, over. I repeat, Ruby and Jaune escaped New York.'

Qrow started with a small chuckle that escalated into full on laughter as he heard the good news.

"Nice job, kids. Good luck out there."


	8. Chapter 8: Playing in the Snow

_December 3rd, 2040_

_6:15 AM_

The room was silent. Jacques sat in his chair, anger pulsing off of him as he stared at the two officers that stood in front of him.

"You had… an entire night to find two Grimm. And somehow… these two managed to evade not only two of my best task force members, but two precincts!"

"Sir, had it not been for Sergeant Rose's—" Raven began.

"I DO NOT GIVE A DAMN," Jacques slammed his fist onto his desk, "Where have they gone…"

"Qrow bought them tickets for Haven. They should arrive within the hour or so," Taiyang said.

"Contact the G.D.T.F there and inform them of their arrival."

"Chief, if I may speak with you alone?"

"Branwen, set outside."

Raven nodded and proceeded outside of the office, leaving the lieutenant and Chief to speak.

"What do you want, Xiao Long, and know that you are on the thinnest of ice," Jacques said.

"You want this mess resolved and I want to bring Ruby back. Let me go after her," Taiyang said.

"You think that I would allow you to take the entire—"

"It would just be me. All the other officers, including Branwen, will remain here in New York while I continue the pursuit."

"With Sergeant Rose under arrest, we will need a new sergeant… inform officer Branwen that she will be taking over as temporary lieutenant in your absence so that I may see how she does as a leader. I am giving you until the end of this week Tai, that gives you three days. If you cannot catch them, then I will be expecting a resignation letter on my desk by the fourth day."

Taiyang nodded and walked out of the office to see a patiently waiting Raven.

"Well?"

"I have been allowed three days to go after them," Taiyang said as he walked towards the exit of the precinct.

"Should I come with. You will need—"

"What I need you to do is to stay here and take charge of the task force. Chief Schnee has decided to put you in charge while I am away."

Raven seemed shocked by this decision, "Tai—"

"I will be fine, okay?"

"…Okay. And when you get back, I have something that I need to tell you."

Tai nodded as he pecked Raven on the cheek, "Okay. We will talk when I get back. I have to go."

Before Taiyang made it out of the door, he heard Raven, "Sir!"

Looking back at her, Raven saluted to her lieutenant, "Good luck in Haven, Lieutenant."

"And good luck here, Sergeant," Taiyang saluted back as he walked out of the precinct.

Getting into his car, Taiyang saw Summer sitting in the passenger seat and looking back at the precinct.

"_As the Rose disappears to the East, the Dragon shall rise from the ashes._"

Taiyang opened up his center console and pulled out his antidepressants prescribed to him by Dr. Leo.

Taking the recommended dose, Taiyang looked and Summer was gone.

"I'm coming, Ruby…"

_6:30 AM_

_It had been about an hour or so since we escaped New York and I failed to get any sleep ever since we left. There were just too many thoughts swimming through my head as I stared outside into the winter scenery. The more that I stared out into the snow, the more I began to think about Jaune's plan. The snow would have covered our tracks and by the time the G.D.T.F found out we were at the train station, we would have already been in Haven. But things never do go according to plan, there is always the chance of fate playing favorites and so far, fate has been playing both sides._

"Oh for the love of…"

Ruby looked across the down the middle of the aisles at her traveling companion, Jaune, as he was rubbing the nape of his neck and groaned, "These stupid chairs will never be comfortable, no matter how hard they try…"

"I would rather be in this uncomfortable chair than back out in that snow storm last night," Ruby said.

"Yeah, you're right…" Jaune said as he looked out of his window, "it looks like things have calmed down though."

As Ruby looked at Jaune as he stared out of the window, curiosity got the better of her, "Hey Jaune?"

"Yeah?"

"I have a question that I have been wanting to ask you."

"You are a cop, aren't you," Jaune asked.

"Yes, Jaune, you caught me red handed. I am an G.D.T.F Grimm Operative," Ruby laughed.

"Okay, but in all seriousness, go ahead. Fire away," Jaune chuckled.

"Why did you decide to leave now?"

This question seemed to surprise Jaune as he asked, "What do you mean?"

"When the G.G.B was announced a couple of months ago, there were all those reports of Grimm crossing the borders into Canada to try and get to Liberteria. But you decided to leave now…"

"I could ask the same of you. Why didn't you leave?"

"…I guess I just didn't want to."

Jaune looked at me with confusion as I continued, "I guess I was just thinking that something was going to happen and the bill wouldn't have passed. The more that I thought about leaving, the more I kept trying to convince myself that it would get better… but I was only lying to myself."

"If we didn't meet yesterday… would you have left?"

Ruby gave a quick breath before admitting to Jaune and herself, "No, I most likely would not have gone. I would have just stayed back and hoped that something would have happened. There were times where I hated what I was because of how the Grimm were being treated, times where I begged that I could be whatever is normal. But nothing can be done now."

"…It was my little sister's birthday a few days ago. I was planning on leaving before, but I wanted to see my little sister grow up just a bit more, to see her smile just one last time. So I spent a couple of days trying to figure out the next opportunity to leave, and the timing had to be next to perfect, then there was the storm advisory and I knew that was my way out. That night after the party, I chose what I was gonna take with me for the journey and when the time came, I left a note to my family and left through my window."

Ruby watched as Jaune wiped his eyes as he had begun to shed a few tears.

"So, why did you come to school then?"

Jaune reached into his bag and pulled out a picture and handed it to Ruby.

"Is this…"

"It's a family photo my mom gave it to me on my first day of elementary school. She told me that it was to remind me that no matter when or where, my family will always love me. I figured that I might as well take it with me."

'The route to Haven is now seventy-five percent complete.'

Jaune, upon hearing the intercom, stood up and wiped his eyes dry, "Okay, sounds like it's time to improvise."

"What?"

"Even if we made it out of New York, we didn't exactly leave discreetly. After that mess at Grand Central, I wouldn't be surprised if the G.D.T.F in Haven are already waiting for us."

"So what are you planning on doing? The only thing that can cut the brakes are the conductor androids, and we didn't really leave the last droid and console in working condition."

"And Haven is most likely waiting for us to arrive so that they can catch us. So if the train can't stop until it reaches the destination… then the only way for us to get off would be… No, that's crazy," Jaune paced around the train, going up to multiple areas of the locomotive and mumbling to himself, "But what if… Okay… Okay, okay, okay, I know what we can do."

"Should I be concerned about what you have planned?"

"Oh, don't worry about it. Um… you may want to put your bag on and strap it on as tight as you can."

The two grabbed their respective bags and tightened them to their backs before Jaune walked up to the nearby train door. Placing his hand on the door, Jaune wrapped his other arm and leg around the pole closest to him.

"You may wanna hold onto something."

"Jaune? What are you—"

"Do you trust me?"

"I don't know."

"Good because you would be crazy to trust what I am about to do, now hold on to the pole like your life depended on it."

Ruby did so and held onto the pole next to her for dear life. Jaune wrapped his arm around the pole next to him, opposite of Ruby, and placed his palm on the door.

"_Electricae._"

Ruby heard the door make a strange noise before it suddenly opened up, a brief powerful suction rushing out as the cold air swept in.

When the two were stable, Ruby yelled, "Are you crazy?!"

"Only a little! Come on!"

Ruby carefully walked up to Jaune by grabbed one pole, pulling herself forward and rinse and repeat until she was beside Jaune, "What is the plan?"

"If we stay on the train, then we will be caught the second we get off in Haven! And forcing the train to stop will just cause the G.D.T.F to rush to the train's destination sooner. So if we can't stop the train, we are gonna have to jump!"

"Jesus Christ, Jaune, you are crazy!"

"Like I said, only a little… Okay, on three, we will jump, got it?"

"Oh god…"

"One!"

_As I stared out into the rushing scenery of brown, white, and green, I felt like my heart was going to burst. The most intense thing that I did before all of this was go to a go-kart location with the family for my birthday, but that doesn't even come close to the adrenaline I was feeling._

"Two!"

_As I began to amp myself up, whispering words of confidence to myself, I felt a physical pressure on my hand and saw that Jaune had taken a hold of it and held it tightly in his. I could see that he was as nervous about this as I was, so I responded by slowly wrapping my fingers around his and interlocking._

"Three!"

The two jumped out of the train. Upon impact, Ruby felt a rough and hard gravely ground as the two tumbled down the side of the train tracks. Soon, however, the feeling of the rough rocks were replaced with a soft and wet feeling as the two had rolled into the snowy grass.

Once the two came to had finally stopped rolling, Jaune was the first to move as he rolled onto his back. Watching as the train continued on without them, Jaune smiled as he stared up into the grey snowing skies, letting out a single, audible, noise.

"Ow."

Jaune suddenly heard faint laughter that was slowly getting louder and turned his head to see Ruby was laughing hysterically while holding her side, tears shedding and a smile on her face as she just kept laughing.

"What?" Jaune asked, a smile forming on his face as well.

"…Ow…" Ruby said.

Now both of the children were laughing as they stayed there for a few moments.

_6:35 AM_

Finally calming down from their hysteria, Ruby leaned up to look for any distinct landmarks. There was nothing around them but the frozen lake behind them and the train tracks that they had just leapt from.

"Well… seeing how we have no tracks to follow other than the train's, I suggest that we follow our former ride," Jaune slowly got onto his feet, shaking off the snow on his body.

"Here," Jaune said as he offered Ruby his hand.

While Ruby took a hold of Jaune's hand, she used her free hand to scoop up a handful of snow. As soon as she was on her feet, Ruby smashed the handful of snow on top of Jaune's head.

"Agh! What the…"

Jaune began to wipe the snow off of his head as he heard Ruby starting to laugh again. Looking up at her, he couldn't help but form a smile on his face.

"Oh, you are so gonna pay for that," Jaune said as he quickly grabbed some snow under him and formed a ball.

_It was a massacre, I tell you. The battle between friends was devastating. There was snow being thrown left and right, up and down, horizontal and diagonal. Jaune managed to hit me a few times and vice versa. But little did I know that Jaune had an ace up his sleeve._

Quickly hiding behind a tree, Jaune grabbed a clump of snow and formed it into a snowball. Taking the opportunity to use one of the few spells that he knows, Jaune whispered, "_Nix_". The snow in his hand began to float as he had used his secret weapon.

"Think fast!"

Ruby was collecting a new snowball when she looked up just in the last second as the ball of snow was making contact with her. Being a spell, the snowball sent Ruby back a few feet.

"Oh my god… Ruby!" Jaune yelled as he ran over to his traveling companion.

Once he was right up next to her, he was staring in horror as Ruby had not moved, "Ruby?"

Ruby quickly faced Jaune with both of her hands extended, "_AER_!"

Jaune was sent up into the air a few feet into the air, Jaune flailing around helplessly as he fell back onto the ground. Ruby laughed as she brushed herself off, "Using a spell during a game, Jaune? Have you no shame…"

"Ow… Okay, okay I deserved that…" Jaune said.

"Now take my hand and accept your defeat," Ruby said with her hand extended.

Ruby was so caught up in her victory that she did not see Jaune hiding the snowball behind his back. As he was lifted up, Jaune smirked which sparked a sense of confusion in Ruby. Ruby was quite surprised when Jaune quickly tightened his grip and smashed the snowball on the center her head. Ruby's expression shifted from a victorious smile to a distasteful glare towards Jaune.

"Now we can call it a truce."


	9. Chapter 9: The Hunter

_December 3rd, 2040_

_7:56 AM_

As Taiyang pulled into Haven, he felt as though the almost two hour drive was excruciating. Usually during these long drives, he had Ruby to tell him about some random fact that she had about gardening, or Qrow telling some old story of the two of them, or Raven who, just sitting next to him, made him feel calm.

But now… he was on his own.

"Excuse me, sir, can I help you?"

Tai looked outside of his window and saw a police officer with a bagel sandwich and coffee in his hand was standing right outside of his car. Rolling down the window, Tai showed the officer his badge.

"My name is Lieutenant Taiyang Xiao Long, I spoke with the Lieutenant here and informed him of the Grimm that will be arriving soon."

"Oh uh… hello Lieutenant, I would salute but uh—"

"It's fine officer… Simmons. Where is your Lieutenant and what is the progress of capturing them?"

"Oh yeah, they sent a couple squadrons to the train tracks to arrest them. The Lieutenant should be monitoring the operation now, follow me."

Taiyang followed Simmons inside of the precinct and into the G.D.T.F department and saw all of the officers were watching the screens closely. One of them turned to the door and saw Tai.

"You must be one of the Lieutenant from New York. Lieutenant Leonard Church is the name," Church said as he offered his hand.

Taiyang shook Church's hand when they both heard another officer, "Sirs! The train is pulling up now!"

Church walked up to the front and grabbed the headset.

"Sergeant, what is your status, over."

'The train is pulling up not… Can't tell which track they are. Officer Griff and Tucker are approaching from the other side and—' The Sarge's voice echoed from the monitor.

'Uh… sirs? We may have a problem.'

"What?" Taiyang asked.

"What is the issue, officer Griff?"

'There is a door open in the front cart.'

"Search that train, top to bottom. We will send the Hunter to scout the tracks."

"You guys have a Hunter," Taiyang asked.

"With how far we are between New York and New Haven, of course. Simmons," Church said.

"On it, sir. Deploying Hunter unit 01 to follow the exact route that the train took."

_8:01 AM_

Ruby and Jaune were walking along the train tracks. Ruby was walking in between the tracks while Jaune was balancing himself along the right side of the tracks. While Jaune was having fun, Ruby was looking at her translation book.

"What do you think Liberteria is like." Ruby asked.

"I don't know. If it's up north, then all I know is that it is gonna be cold."

"I wonder if it's got a big wall or something."

"Maybe our transport in Haven knows what it looks like."

"Speaking of Haven, I have a question. If we're supposed to be meeting this ally of the Grimm in Haven, how do you know where they are?"

"The Light sent me instructions that will lead to where we are supposed to meet him and what to say. I memorized it and flushed it down the toilet."

"Okay, let's hear it."

"The Transporter will go to a coffee shop every Wednesday from nine to two and then go back to his home."

"And the name of the cafe?"

"The name of the cafe is called, 'The Magic Bean.'"

Ruby came to a halt and stared at Jaune, "You're joking, right? I mean, why not just call it a—"

"Hey, what is that up ahead?"

Looking down the tracks, Ruby saw a sign in the distance.

"Come on, let's see what it says."

The two jogged up to the sign for a closer look.

'Haven: 2 miles away'

Jaune walked a bit forward and turned back to Ruby, "Well, that's good to know. Maybe we can…"

As Jaune began talking, Ruby looked behind him and saw something on the track. It was far, but the shape of it is what scared her.

"Jaune… we need to hide."

"What?"

"Quickly!"

Ruby did not say another word as she grabbed Jaune's hand and quickly ran off of the train tracks. Hiding behind a cluster of trees, Ruby quickly hid their footprints with the cloaking spell.

"Ruby, wh—" Ruby was very quick to silence Jaune as she had placed her gloved hand over his mouth and a finger upon her lips, motioning for him to stay quiet. Jaune could see the fear in Ruby's eyes, knowing that whatever was coming towards them was something bad.

Hearing the mechanical noise of the Hunter, Ruby closed her eyes and begged that they did not leave any trace of them at that point.

_The Hunter Droid… I have only seen it on the news and heard about it from dad's stories. Even if I never saw one, the stories sent shivers up my spine. Dad would always tell this to friends during late night events of how he captured a Grimm that was on the run from Florida using the Hunter. The Grimm had been hopping trains, trying to get to Canada. When the Grimm arrived in the New York train yard, the Hunter was monitoring the train yard when it detected his footprints. The Grimm didn't even make it twenty feet from the train before he was taken down._

_The Hunter is a state of the art detection droid that has two sub-routines: Incapacitate and Kill. When the droid directive is set for Incapacitate, its twin rounds fire stun charges that can reach up to sixty thousands amps that can incapacitate anyone in a few rounds. When it is set for kill, the droid will fire 7.62x51 NATO bullets that can pierce through you like a weight through paper._

Looking towards the tracks, Ruby could see the Hunter's shadow floating down the tracks, getting closer and closer, causing her heartbeat to fly through the roof.

'Detection of footprints leading up to current geological position. Probability of Grimm in surrounding area has raised to… eighty-seven percent. Authorization to activate Pulse has been approved of.'

_8:09 AM_

"The Hunter is asking permission to use the Pulse," Simmons asked.

"Permission granted," Church said.

_8:10 AM_

The Hunter began to make a strange noise that got excessively louder until a pulse was released.

There was an eerie silence. Jaune and Ruby were hoping that they were in the clear.

_8:11 AM_

"I GOT THEM," Simmons yelled, "On the tracks heading towards Haven."

"Secure and incapacitate."

"On it sir," Simmons said.

_8:11 AM_

The floating orb zipped behind the cluster of trees, now facing the two Grimm.

'Ruby Rose. Jaune Arc. You are under arrest for—'

Ruby quickly stood up to try to use the electric spell, but the before she could even utter a spell, the Hunter fired a stun round into her stomach, sending Ruby flying into the ground.

_The pain of the electricity was excruciating. It was like I was being bit by a dog with very sharp teeth while leaving almost no marking._

"Ruby!"

'Ruby Rose. Jaune Arc. You are under arrest for the crimes of grand theft, assault of an innocent and for the assault of a G.D.T.F officer. Should you show resistance, you will be incapacitated.'

Feeling the pain beginning to nullify, Ruby looked towards Jaune and could see that his hand was already aiming at the ground. Jaune saw that Ruby was awake and could tell, based on what he saw, that the chances of going head to head with the Hunter was small. Knowing that Jaune was ready to attack the Hunter, but needed a distraction, Ruby slowly got up and yelled, "Hey! Over here, you floating testicle!"

The machine shifted its gaze back towards Ruby, giving Jaune the perfect chance to strike.

'Ruby Rose. Jaune Arc. You are under arrest for the crimes of grand theft—'

"_Aqua_!"

The snow melted beneath Jaune's feet and turned into water and shot it at the Hunter, sending it into a tree and cracking the exterior shell.

'Danger. Danger.'

The Hunter was about to fire its stun rounds at Jaune, but was interrupted as the Hunter suddenly was surrounded in electricity, causing it to short circuit and shut down. Jaune looked towards Ruby and saw her own hand was extended and must have used the electric spell on the Hunter.

'Error… Error…'

Ruby, now holding the cluster of electricity in her hand, sent the electricity into the sky.

_8:15 AM_

The G.D.T.F stared at the screen as the Hunter shut down.

"What happened," Church asked.

"They destroyed the Hunter sir," Simmons said.

"Send the officers down the tracks. Now."

"Rewind the feed by twelve seconds," Taiyang said.

Simmons did so, and Taiyang saw Ruby in the monitor. Her eyes black and red with a hint of determination in them. Had she not been a Grimm, he would have been proud of her creativity to take down a Hunter.

"We'll get them, Tai," Church said.

_8:16 AM_

As Ruby and Jaune watched the Hunter slowly deactivating from the lack of power, Ruby held her stomach in pain as the feeling of being hit by the stun round was still there.

"Are you okay," Jaune asked.

"I feel I drank twenty cups of coffee at the same time. Other than that, I'm fine I suppose."

"So… care to explain what this thing is?"

"This… was a Hunter. It's tracking droid that the G.D.T.F uses when searching for Grimm outside of cities or towns."

"Great. Drones… never would have expected that. And what else should I know about it?"

"The Hunter uses two sensory receptors while tracking: iconic and echoic. If it can see its target, then it will . If it hears any noises during its search, it will triangulate on the sounds origin and proceed to search for any clues in that area."

"And that Pulse thing?"

"I assume that it tracks heat or heartbeats. I have never seen it use it before so I don't know what the range for it is."

"Well at least that confirms that they were waiting for us…"

Suddenly, the Hunter booted up again, scaring both Grimm. But this time, only one light came on and a loud beeping noise emanated from the droid.

"That's probably a tracker since we destroyed it. We better get going. Let's leave the… what did you call it again?"

A small blush forming on Ruby's face, she shook her arms up and down, "I was thinking on my feet!"

"Whatever you say," Jaune said as the two walked away from the train tracks and continued towards the city.


	10. Chapter 10: No Safe Haven

_December 3rd, 2040_

_9:06 AM_

"Approaching the tracking beacon now," The Sarge said.

The group of officers slowly approached from multiple sides and slowly closed in on the tracker.

'Any sign of the Grimm?'

"Negative. Targets appeared to have disappeared."

Taking a few more steps, the group of officers came into contact with the destroyed Hunter.

"We have arrived at the beacon… they aren't here."

'SHIT! Where have they gone?'

_9:02 AM_

_For once, luck was on our side. When we arrived at the city, there were military checkpoints being set up, but because they were still being set up, there were many ways into the city without drawing suspicions. Once we entered the city, Jaune and I found a map and we were on our way to The Magic Bean._

"We should be getting close, if we're… here," Ruby said as she pointed at the map, " and if the Magic Bean is here… then we should only have another four blocks."

"Oh great, only four blocks…"

"Oh calm down, it's a walk in the park for us at this point."

"How's your stomach doing?"

Ruby placed a hand on her stomach and felt the sore lump, "It is still sore, but it is better than when we were on the tracks."

"If you need any help, let me know okay?"

"Yeah… okay."

Walking past a newspaper stand, Jaune and Ruby heard, 'Breaking news: Grimm on the run.'

Pretending to grab a newspaper to see what was going on in Haven, Jaune and Ruby listened to the contents of the radio event.

'Earlier this morning, two Grimm managed to evade G.D.T.F officers with the aid of a Sergeant Qrow Rose. The G.D.T.F officer, and relative of one of the Grimm, gave them safe transport to Grand Central Station before buying them tickets to Haven. G.D.T.F officers were waiting for them to arrive but found that they had exited the train before it arrived in the station. Sergeant Rose was apprehended outside of Grand Central and is being questioned as we speak. Be on the lookout for these individuals. They are extremely dangerous and must be reported on sight.'

_I did not need a screen to know that our faces were most likely on display. All I wanted to instinctively pull my hoodie all the way over my head, but I knew that doing that would only draw suspicion. But I made a mental note to myself that this place was no safer than New York._

"Come on," Jaune whispered.

"Yeah…" Ruby said as they continued towards the coffee shop.

_As we got closer and closer to the shop, the more exhausted I felt. I was lying when I told Jaune about the pain… it was as if every fiber of my being wanted to just completely shut down. Luckily, we did not have to go much farther… because before I knew it, we were standing outside of The Magic Bean._

"Looks like this is the place," Ruby said, looking at the map, "The one and only."

"Well… let's go and meet them."

Ruby and Jaune walked into the coffee shop and saw that it was mostly empty, save for a couple who was having a conversation and an elderly woman who was reading a newspaper. What set Ruby on edge was that all of the employees were androids, meaning that they could be identified if they check the recordings. Jaune tapped Ruby on the shoulder and nodded towards the woman reading the newspaper.

"That's them," Jaune whispered.

The woman Jaune was talking about was wearing a somewhat formal gown as she was drinking a cup of coffee and reading the newspaper. Her hair was nearly white and he had a small silver locket around her neck.

"Just follow my lead."

Ruby followed behind Jaune as he walked up to the man and sat down at the woman's table. Upon noticing the two sit down, the woman lowered her newspaper to stare at the two secret Grimm with a confused look on her face.

"Excuse me, but I believe that you have the wrong table."

Jaune cleared his throat, "Sorry, we were just wondering if you had a light."

"A light? Beg my pardon, but I think that you are a little bit too young for smoking. And besides, who needs to smoke so early in the morning," The woman said as she looked back at her paper.

"Someone who just needs a light."

Ruby watched the woman's expression change from confused to somewhat calm as she slowly placed the newspaper down to get a good look at the two.

"It clearly looks that way. It looks like you two have walked all the way from the West Coast."

"It certainly does feels that way," Jaune chuckled.

"Well, I must apologize as I do not have a light on me at the moment. Now I must ask that you please leave me alone."

Concerned, Ruby whispered, "Jaune, I—"

Ruby was interrupted by Jaune, who had nudged her with his leg. Seeing that they were not leaving, the woman now seemed upset and stood up.

"Very well, if you will not leave, then I shall."

The woman placed her newspaper down before she stood up and walked out of the cafe, leaving behind a silent Jaune and confused Ruby.

"Jaune," Ruby whispered.

But that is when Ruby noticed that while Jaune was facing forward, his eyes were looking down towards the newspaper. Ruby did the same and saw that the woman had written something down on the paper.

'OUTSIDE'

'LEFT'

'ROUND BACK'

'TRUCK'

Jaune whispered, "Now…"

Ruby followed Jaune as the two of them stood up and the two walked out of the coffee shop. Turning left, Ruby followed Jaune around the back of the coffee shop into the small coffee shop and saw a single truck was parked and leaning against the truck was the old woman.

"Get in, quickly."

Ruby and Jaune got into the back of the car and shut the door behind them. The woman got into the front seat and sighed.

"I was expecting you both to be captured. After that stunt you two pulled in Grand Central, the G.D.T.F has been patrolling all morning. Grand Central was the two of you, am I right?"

"Yes…"

"Well, you don't have to worry. By the way, my name is Willow. Willow Adel."

"Jaune Arc."

"Ruby Rose."

"When I received word from our friends in Burlington, I was informed that I was going to be transporting only Jaune Arc. Who is the tagalong?"

"Ruby is a friend. She's like me."

Willow stared at Ruby in the rearview mirror, "Rose… I heard that a G.D.T.F lieutenant is here from New York as well. You're the one that he's after, aren't you?"

"Yes, that would be my father…"

"I don't think that I have ever heard of a G.D.T.F's daughter being an Grimm. Then again, I guess there is a first for everything."

"…"

"Not that it is any of my business, but might I ask who was it that caught you two? Everyone has a similar story. Was it parents? Friends? Significant other?"

"Someone I knew was pulling prank by at our school overheard us talking about leaving… I guess we should have expected that at the time."

"I see… in any case, how you were caught should no longer be a concern to either of you. What matters now is that you two managed to arrive safely. That being said, both of you have been the Haven's main attention," Willow said as he turned on the radio.

'—utenant from New York, Lieutenant Taiyang Xiao Long, will be running the investigation in the search for his daughter and runaway Grimm, Ruby Rose, alongside another Grimm by the name of Jaune Arc. Haven G.D.T.F officers searched the train tracks using their standard issue Hunter drones and did manage to find them, but was ultimately destroyed by the Grimm. Citizens have been asked to keep a lookout for the two but to avoid any contact as they are considered extremely dangerous.'

"So how does this transportation work?" Jaune asked.

"The way that this is usually done is that you stay in the safe house for a few days so that things can settle before transportation. However, with all of the recent news regarding the G.G.B, the plan might have to change."

"Wait, what do you mean? What happened with the G.G.B?"

"You two must have not heard. Last night, the Ironwood Administration announced that congress is going to be voting on the G.G.B even sooner than what was originally expected."

"What?"

"Senator Hill is outraged by this newest update regarding the bill. But because she does not have enough support, there is nothing that she can do."

"So what does this mean for us?"

"What it means is that if you two do not cross the border by tomorrow, you may be in very hostile territory."


	11. Chapter 11: Shelter

_December 3rd, 2040_

_9:45 AM_

The drive to the location was careful and thought out, Willow taking shortcuts wherever she could to avoid as many cameras as she could. Ruby and Jaune were hiding under a blanket to avoid discovery.

"Just a bit further, children, I promise."

Jaune and Ruby were sitting in an uncomfortable silence as the two were laying on top of each other, as if they were a pile of planks, blushes on both of their faces even if they could not see it.

Pulling up to the garage door, Willow pressed a button on the truck's console and the garage door slowly opened up. Once the door was lifted, Willow pulled the truck into the garage and closed the door.

"We're here."

The two kids were quick to get off of one another as they got out of the truck.

"I suggest that you bring your belongings with you."

"Not a problem, it isn't like we brought much to begin with," Jaune said as he got out.

Ruby quickly grabbed her bag and walked up to Willow, who was waiting by the door, patiently for her new guests to join her. As the three entered the house, Ruby was quite amazed by the interior design of the house. Its walls were an ivory oak color that complimented the black wood floor that extended up the staircase with the same wood and onto the second level of the house.

"How long have you lived here," Ruby asked.

"I was born and raised in this house, so I should say about sixty-seven years."

"What was it like," Jaune asked, "To live in a time without Grimm?"

"Oh believe me, the Grimm are not the first thing that people unanimously hated. Your lot is just this decade's hate. I am sure that they will shift their hatred back towards race or religion in the future. But enough about that…"

"Do you live here alone?"

"No, my grandkids look after me, just as I look after them. Speaking of which," Willow said as she came to a stop and looked up towards the staircase, "Coco? Velvet?"

"Yes," A voice came from upstairs.

"Come downstairs please."

Upon hearing the sound of someone walking down the stairs, Ruby looked up and saw the girl that was talking to Willow.

This was Coco. She was currently wearing some brown pajama pants, a grey tank top, and had her dark brown hair tied into a ponytail and her amber eyes staring directly at her own.

"This is Coco. Though she is human, she has a fascination of the Grimm. That is why she is almost always asking her sister to demonstrate small spells for her. Speaking of which; Coco, where is Velvet?"

"She is waking up right now," Coco said before looking at Ruby and Jaune, "So, are these two are the new arrivals?"

"Yes, they are."

Ruby took a step forward and extended her hand to Coco, "My name is Ruby Rose."

"Jaune Arc."

Coco took Ruby's hand and shook it, "Coco Adel."

"They will be staying with us for the night before I will be taking them up to Burlington."

"And what about Velvet? Will she be going?"

"We can worry about that later. For now, why don't we get these two to their room. They are exhausted from the trip, I'm sure," Willow turned her attention back to Ruby and Jaune, "If the two of you will follow me, I will show you to your room."

"You means rooms, right," Ruby asked as Jaune followed Willow upstairs, "She means rooms, as in plural, right?"

"Relax, I'm sure you'll survive," Coco said, "Come on. So… from what I saw what you two did in New York, I thought that they were lying. Did you two really steal a whole train?"

"I wouldn't say that we stole it, more like… no, never mind, I can't think of a word other than stole," Jaune shrugged.

"So Mrs. Adel—"

"Oh no, there will none of those formalities in this house," Willow said, "You may call me Willow."

"Okay then, Willow, you said that Velvet is a Grimm?"

"Yes, I did."

"Then why didn't you turn her in?"

"Despite what humans believe, I see the benefits that the Grimm provide for humanity."

"Yeah, she won't turn her in, but she won't let Velvet head north either."

"That is enough, Coco!"

Seeing her grandmother was getting angry, Coco looked away in annoyance.

"Now, I am sure that our guests are rather tired. This here," Willow pointed at the door to her right, "is the guest room. It is where the two of you will be staying. It has all the basic necessities that you will need. Lights, a roof, and do not worry Ruby, there are two separate beds. See for yourself."

Willow placed her hand on the doorknob and opened the door, showing the inside of the room. Upon first glance, Ruby and Jaune knew that it was more than enough.

"This is perfect," Ruby said as she set her bag down.

Pulling out what was left of the money Qrow gave her, she offered it to Willow, "Thank you for helping us."

"Oh put that away, Ruby. Any Grimm is a friend of the Adels, so long as you follow the rules."

"Rules?"

"Yes, the rules. You two are not allowed to use any spells. You are not allowed outside, not even the backyard. We cannot allow someone even the slightest chance of spotting you and identifying you. And finally, no… shall we say, relations."

A crimson shade replaced the pale skin on Ruby's cheeks as she shook her head, "We promise that will not happen."

"Good, then dinner will be at six. Until then, feel free to rest. There is a shower at the very end of the hall and the washer and dryer are in the basement. If you have any questions, please let either myself, or Coco know."

Willow proceeded down the staircase, leaving the three teenagers alone.

"Sorry about all that, we are just stressed out from the news about the G.G.B."

"Yeah, she mentioned what happened on the way here," Jaune said.

"Is the vote really going to be tomorrow?"

"From what the news was saying, it is. A lot of the senators are wanting to get this out of the way."

"What about Senator Hill?"

"She is furious."

"Really?"

"See for yourself," Coco pulled out her phone.

After unlocking it and handing it to Shana and James, they watched the conference that took place.

_8:30 AM_

"Welcome everyone to the emergency senate meeting. We are here to discuss the recent updates of the Grimm Genocide Bill. I am to understand that you are not pleased with these results, Senator Hill?"

"…" Senator Hill stared at her written speech.

"Senator Hill?"

Placing her paper down, Senator Hill looked up at her fellow senators.

"As I sit here, I feel nothing but shame towards the actions that my fellow senators have made in the past twenty-four hours. It is no secret that I not only disagree with this bill, but I find it despicable and a disgrace to the mere idea of what the United States. Our country is supposed to be the safe haven for those who seek freedom. Now, it is as if our the name of our country has become some ironic joke—"

"Be that as it may, Senator Hill, I highly doubt that when the Founding Fathers named this country, they were even considering the possibility of this threat to the country. In the last three weeks—"

"I do not wish to interrupt you from interrupting me, but might I ask, Senator Hargrove, what exactly is threat do chained up Grimm give you? What diabolical plot are children, who are experimented on daily, planning?"

"I am not talking about the Grimm that we have arrested, Senator Hill, I am talking about the individuals who remain on the loose. What about those two Grimm that stole a train earlier today, Senator Hill? Two Grimm stole a whole train to flee from the authorities."

"While I do not approve of the actions that they made, I ask you what you would do. If you were backed into a corner, your chances of survival being to rely on your primal instincts to adapt and improvise. These people have a gift that we can never understand and that is why I respect them and that is why you fear them. They aren't terrorists or criminals. They are men, women, and children. And when you back them into a corner, they will do things unpredictably—'

"Senator Hill, they broke an officer's back trying to get out."

"And I know twenty test subjects, all men, women, and children with their tongues and fingers cut off because Dr. Watts believed that was our only solution for the Grimm. Listen, my fellow senators, I know that you are scared. We have all been scared of the Grimm, it is our basic nature as human beings to fear something that we have no knowledge of. Now, I am not asking you to simply forgive the Grimm who have used these powers for ill intent. I am asking you to simply imagine the good that they can provide to us."

_9:53 AM_

"Her statements seemed to have changed a few senators' opinions, but it is not nearly enough to make a difference at this point."

"You mentioned your sister," Ruby asked.

Coco looked down, as if in defeat, "She can't stay here anymore. It's too dangerous for her to stay here and I have been trying to convince Grandma that for the last two weeks… but whenever I bring it up, she either changes the subject or she gets angry. I think that she knows it's time… she just wants to spend what little time we have left."

"Coco, can you come give me a hand," Willow asked from downstairs.

"On my way, just give me a second," Coco called out to Willow. Looking back at the two, she sighed, "Look, all that matters is that you guys are safe for now. Just relax and maybe try and change into something more… clean."

With that final comment, Coco left the two Grimm to their own affairs. While Jaune was taking off her bag, he lifted his arm and sniffed his armpit, causing him to gag.

"I think Coco was onto something about the clothes…"

After the two walked into their room and placed their bags at the door, Ruby releasing an audible groan as she massaged her sore stomach. Looking to her traveling partner, Ruby watched as Jaune practically threw himself onto the left bed.

"Oh my god…" Jaune moaned.

Wanting to rest her feet as well, Ruby walked over and sat down on the right bed, but as soon as Ruby made contact with the soft fabric, she too released an audible moan.

"Hey Ruby?"

"Yeah?"

"I think I am in heaven."

Ruby chuckled, "I was thinking the same thing… At least we did a lot before we died."

"Eh, not really, we only evaded the G.D.T.F multiple times, stole a train, jumped out of said train, and took down a Hunter. Definitely not the plan that I was originally expecting."

"What was the plan that you were expecting?"

"The one where I didn't have to steal a damn train."

Ruby began to laugh at Jaune's quick response, causing Jaune to join in as well.

_These were the moments that I treasured most during my journey. Sure, at this point it was only a few hours, but I cherish every minute of them. As I sat there next to him, I couldn't help but think that I never would have met Jaune if it wasn't for Ciel pranking me. I wish I could thank her someday, but even then she would probably assume that I was about to kill her because of my obvious Grimmish lust for death and destruction. As I sat there beside Jaune, I couldn't help but have a small feeling deep inside. Something that I both wanted to know and did not want to know._

When their laughter had died down, Ruby looked at Jaune as he laid there on the bed.

"Jaune, there's something that I wanted to ask you."

"What is it?"

"I… I just wanted to say that I appreciate that you brought me with on this journey. I know that it was a risk and I even almost got us caught."

"Don't worry about that anymore. It is in the past now."

Looking at Ruby, Jaune could tell she had something else to say.

"What is it?"

"I… I was just wondering when we arrive in Liberteria, what is going to happen?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I mean… I guess what I am trying to ask is… What is your plan?"

Jaune looked at Ruby with a look of confusion, "Uh… I hadn't really thought that far ahead. Why were you wondering?"

Ruby opened up her jacket pocket and pulled out the photo of her mother and handing it to Jaune. The instant that he saw the photo, he knew who it was.

"Is this…"

"My mother. She died when I was little. Shortly after, my grandparents took almost everything that belonged to her. That photo is the last thing I have of her."

"Jesus…"

"When she died, everything changed. I was distant in class and avoided almost all contact with the other kids. My teachers knew about my mom and became concerned, so my dad set me up with a therapist, which just resulted in pointless meetings and expensive medicine that made me feel like crap. Then, I was just that drugged up kid with mommy issues… I was alone, even before I found out about what I was."

Ruby wiped her eyes as she realized that she had begun to feel her cheeks burn with her tears and that her voice began to grow louder as she continued.

"One day, my father comes home and tells me that congress is forming something called the Grimm Genocide Bill. When he said what it was, I wasn't angry or sad, no, I was… I was happy. It is the first time that I am admitting that aloud, but I was happy because then… then I could be with her again, because then I wouldn't be alone anymore…"

Jaune turned to say something, but decided against it.

"I realize now how stupid I was for thinking that, but I just hated being alone. And as we have been on this journey, that feeling was gone. But as we keep going, there is there is a similar feeling that I have been having."

"What?"

"That once we make it across, you would just forget about me… and I would be alone again and I don't think that I can do that…"

As Ruby wiped the tears from her eyes, she felt a hand being placed on her shoulder. Knowing that it was Jaune's hand on her shoulder, she turned and embraced Jaune in a hug. Staring at the photo as it rested on the bed, Jaune made a decision. Breaking away from the hug, Jaune stared into Ruby's eyes.

"Ruby, you don't have to worry about being alone anymore."

"It's easy to make a promise Jaune, it's keeping the promise that is difficult."

"Then let me prove it," Jaune broke apart from the hug and stood up.

"Jaune, what are you doing?"

"I, Jaune Arc, promise that I will do everything that I can to protect you and to always remain by your side until the end."

_As I stared at his childish smile, I could not help but chuckle at his attempt to cheer me up. I think that it was his humor that helped keep me sane throughout the journey so far. So I decided to let him have this one…_

Ruby slowly stood up and faced her partner, "And I, Ruby Rose, promise that I will also do everything that I can to protect you and to remain by your side until the end."

The two grabbed the other's hand and shook, sealing the promise between them. When they let go of one another, they realized how awkward what they did was.

"Well eheh… I think that I am going to go hop into that shower that Willow was talking about."

A small tint of red on her cheeks, Ruby looked away and tried to think of a good response, "Um Yeah, that does sound like a good idea… go ahead, I need to make sure I didn't lose my book."

Jaune grabbed a cluster of clothes from his bag and proceeded out through the door, leaving Ruby alone with her thoughts.

Hearing a knock on her door, Ruby stood up from the bed.

"Jaune, did you forget something," Ruby asked as she approached the door.

Opening it, Ruby did not see Jaune, but instead saw a girl. This girl seemed to be maybe a year or two younger than her. Her chocolate brown hair let loose, but managing to stay clear of her dirt colored eyes.

"Hello."

Confused, Ruby said, "…Hello, can I help you?"

"Are you the new arrival?"

"One of them, yes."

"My name is Velvet."

_Just upon first glance of Velvet, I realized now why Willow was so protective of her. It was the same reason that Coco wanted her to leave as soon as possible. They both wanted to protect her in their own way. She was just a child._

"You have eyes like me," Velvet pointed to her own eyes, "Well I mean, I am hiding them, here watch. _Pulvis_."

As her eyes turned black and red, small specks of stuff flew from the ceiling to Velvet's hand, collecting into a small ball of dust that levitated off of her hand.

"See?"

Chuckling, Ruby extended her hand towards Velvet's, "_Pulvis_."

The ball of dust split in half before one side flew into Ruby's, her eyes now actually the same as Velvet's. Velvet saw this and started clapping as Coco walked into the doorway.

Coco walked up and placed her hand on Velvet's shoulder, "There you are. Are you bothering the new arrivals?"

Velvet gave Ruby a look that seemed to say, 'Be on my side please'.

Deciding that this could be a chance to socialize with her good samaritans, Ruby chuckled, "No, she was fine. She was just asking a couple of questions."

"Okay, well she can get to be a little bit too chatty sometimes."

"I am not," Velvet crossed her arms.

"It's fine really. Would you two like to come in?"

Coco looked down at Velvet who was already walking in with a smile on her face, "Sure."

The three girls sat down on opposite beds.

"So, you guys are members of The Light," Ruby asked.

"No, but Willow knows the leader of Burlington's hideout. Saved his life, actually."

"Really?"

Coco began, "Yeah, it was back in 2035, but I think I will wait until dinner to finish it, or rather have Grandma finish it. Speaking of which, hey Velvet, I think Grandma wanted you to go help her

Coco walked up to the window and stared out of it.

"I know that she can't stay here anymore. The G.G.B is going to pass and all those Grimm trapped in the Institutions will be killed. And neither you, or Jaune, or Velvet will be safe here after tomorrow. I just wish that Willow could understand that."

"Your grandmother wants to spend as much time as she can with Velvet before she has no choice…"

"It was no longer her choice the moment they proposed that damn bill."

Coco paused for a moment as she watched a family of three walking down the sidewalk.

"Velvet doesn't deserve this life…"

"None of us do."

"You're right, I'm sorry…" Coco wiped her eyes.

"It's fine."

Coco was about to speak when the door opened and Velvet walked in, "Gramps said that you were lying!"

"Oh was I lying? Or was Grandma lying?"

"I… you… Ugh…" Velvet lowered her head in defeat.

"Here, let's see what's on the TV. That will improve everyone's mood… hopefully."

Coco grabbed the remote and turned on the TV and began to scroll through the channels. But one channel caused Ruby's eyes to widen.

"Stop! Go back."

Coco did so and Ruby saw who was on the screen.

'—tement from the convicted G.D.T.F officer, Qrow Rose, just now.'

_9:46 AM_

"Mr. Rose, you claim that you did nothing wrong. How do you explain that?"

"When I joined the G.D.T.F, I swore an oath. An oath to protect the lives of the innocent and to keep them from those who wish to harm them. Ruby Rose is my niece as much as she is a Grimm, but just because of this recent discovery, I do not hold some uncovered hatred towards her. I will not simply just cast away all the love that I have towards her because of something that she does not have a choice over. She went to the same school as my son, the same train route as my brother in law did. She attended the same family events the G.D.T.F has hosted. The only time she was even considered a threat to us then was what it was time to eat," Qrow gave a small chuckle, "Grimm are not the monsters we are led to believe. Did I help a Grimm? Yes, I did. Did I disobey my oath? No, I did not. I protected the life of an innocent."

"My client will not say anymore in the matter," Qrow's lawyer said as he was escorted away.

_10:06 AM_

'Shortly after Mr. Rose's statement, our local news reporters managed to receive a follow up statement from Taiyang Xiao Long just a few hours ago.'

"Let me guess, that's your dad?"

Ruby looked at Coco with an expression that could only be described as 'not now'.

'Lieutenant Long, how do you feel about Mr. Rose's statements regarding your daughter?'

'The events that have transpired in these last twenty-four hours give me nothing but heartache. I trusted my brother in law with my life. However, when he not only refused a direct order from me as his superior, but also aided and harbored known terrorists, he put the lives of others at risk which greatly injured a G.D.T.F officer. Ruby, while she may have acted innocent, is undeniably a danger to society and must be returned to New York where she and Jaune will be treated for their disease at the Institution.'

'There are rumors beginning to spread regarding your possible involvement in your daughter's escape. Is it true that you knew about your daughter's secret and chose to do nothing about it?'

'No, I had no idea that my daughter was an Grimm.'

'Then how come she was not tested when you became a member of the G.D.T.F, let alone an officer? I thought that all officers and relatives have to be tested, or am I mistaken?'

'No. You are correct. The reason that my daughter was not tested was because when my late wife was still pregnant with Ruby and she was tested, the results were counted for both of them. It appears as though the test had failed.'

'Lieutenant, has there been any progress made in catching these dangerous criminals?'

'The last confirmed position was form a destroyed Hunter Drone that had visual confirmation of Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc. Our next course of action is checking the CCTV cameras throughout the city to see where they may have gone. As slow as this process is, we are nevertheless catching up to them. It's only a matter of time before they are in G.D.T.F custody.'

"He's scary," Velvet said.

_There was a loud ringing in my head as I felt nothing but pain in my heart and tears in my eyes. I could tell you that I wanted to scream in anger or sadness and curse up a storm. But if I said any of those things, then I would only be lying to you. The only thing that I felt was sadness. I wanted to wake up from this horrible nightmare to sound of that stupid alarm clock. I wanted to watch one more old movie with dad. I wanted anything other than this…_

"Uh… hey Velvet, why don't you show Ruby the translation book you have."

"Oh yeah! Let me go get it," Velvet said as she ran out of the room.

"It was a gift from the leader in Burlington to Willow when he found out about Velvet."

Velvet came back into the room with a book in her hands. Shortly behind her, Jaune walked in with a fresh set of clothes on.

"Hey, what did I miss?"

Ruby quickly turned off the TV and turned to Jaune, "Oh just some more of the news."

"That bad huh?"

"Yeah. Anyways, Velvet what is that," Ruby asked.

"This is my translation book," Velvet said as she handed it to Ruby.

Upon opening it, Ruby was amazed by the detail in the book.

"Jaune, come look at this…"

Jaune walked up and looked down at the book and his eyes became saucers by just looking at the detail.

"Oh my god… it has pronunciations, how to cast each spell, and warnings. This is amazing."

Ruby flipped through the pages before one spell caught her eyes.

"Place hand on object you wish to camouflage and say… here hold this," Ruby handed Jaune the book.

Ruby took a step back and placed one hand on the other and said, "_Invisibilis_."

Ruby didn't see any difference or feel any different and just sighed, "Did I say it wrong?"

"Ruby?"

Ruby looked up to see the three other people in the room staring at "her".

"What?"

"Where did you go," Jaune asked

"What do you mean?"

"You're invisible," Coco said.

Jaune flipped the book and continued reading, "Once the spell is spoken, then the individual shall remain unseen to the naked eye. However, if the individual makes any fast movements, then the spell shall wear off."

"Like this?"

Ruby quickly moved her foot, causing Jaune to jump back.

"There you are," Coco said.

"Let me see what else there is."

Scrolling through the spell, one spell surprised Ruby.

'_Sanguis (Sang goo ees) Aim your hand at the person or animal that is threatening you and say the spell. Target shall stop in place and be in your control. Warning: Spell is considered dangerous in Liberteria and has been categorized as an illegal spell due to its gruesomeness._'

"Blood."

"What?"

"There is a spell that controls blood."

Not wanting Velvet to hear anymore, Coco cleared her throat. Noticing that, Ruby looked at Velvet, "Velvet, would it be okay if Jaune and I can continue to look at these. We want to be as powerful as you."

Velvet looked to Coco to see what she would say. Watching Coco give an approving nod, Velvet nodded in approval as well.

"Great."

"Come on Velvet, we should leave these two alone."

"Come by again, and thanks for letting us look at the spells," Ruby said as she shut the door.

Ruby continued to read the spells when another spell piqued her interest.

'_Memoria Damnus (Memo rE ah Damn nus) Place your hand on the back of the subject's head and say the spell as well as the subject that you wish for them to forget. Example: Memoria Damnus Dog_

_WARNING: You will view the entirety of the subjects memories as the spell triangulates on the specific memory.'_

"Are you okay Ruby? You look a little TOO into what you're reading."

"Y-Yeah, it's just that…some of these spells sound a bit unreal."

"Why don't we put down the book and you go take a shower," Jaune said as he grabbed the book.

"Fine… Is it right to assume that the shower is worth it?"

"Let me tell you something Ruby. After running for hours through a snowstorm, from the G.D.T.F, and along a train track, I am never taking a nice hot shower for granted ever again."

"Okay, then I will see if it lives up to the hype."

Walking into the bathroom, Ruby locked the door behind her. Turning the shower on and feeling the heated water was already set for her, thanks to Jaune, Ruby began to strip out of her clothes.

_Showers were always a great place to help me think, the only place where I could think to myself, where I could truly be alone with my thoughts. As I was in that shower, all that I could think of was the journey that Jaune and I made at this point. Jaune and I had come such a long way in such a short time with still quite a ways to go. As I thought about everything that we had been through, my mind shifted towards Jaune and his goofy smile._

Ruby grabbed the shampoo and began to wash her hair.

'Jaune was right. That shower was worth the long trek to this moment.'

When she was done, Ruby turned off the shower as she stepped out, drying herself off with the nearby towel. Reaching into her backpack, Ruby pulled out a pair of pajamas. Slipping them on, Ruby grabbed her dirty clothes and proceeded out of the bathroom. Walking back into her room, she saw Jaune was reading the spell book.

"Hey, I'm gonna go wash these. You want me to wash your stuff too?"

"Oh if you don't mind," Jaune said, "By the way, your eyes are still Grimm."

"I know, and by the way, you were absolutely right. That was so great…" Ruby sighed in relief as she picked up Jaune's clothes.

Walking downstairs, Ruby saw Willow was chopping up some onion while wearing safety goggles. Beside her was Coco and Velvet, Coco peeling potatoes and Velvet was passing potatoes to her.

"Oh Ruby, I see that you have tried out the shower. How is it," Willow asked.

"It was great. Again, we really appreciate your hospitality."

"The washing machine is down in the basement. Velvet, show Ruby where it is."

"Okay."

Ruby followed after Velvet down into the basement and saw the washer and dryer. Opening the washing door and placing the clothes in, things were calm before a sudden slam caused Ruby to turn and see Coco.

"Do not start that."

"What?"

Coco placed a finger on her lips and pointed up. Listening carefully, Ruby heard Willow opening the door.

_10:45 AM_

"Oh! Good afternoon officers, how are you today on this fine winter afternoon?"

"Hello there, are you Willow Adel?"

"Yes, that is me. Might I ask who you are?"

"Apologies ma'am, I am Officer Griff and this is my Sergeant."

"Ma'am, we received a report that you came into contact with two extremely dangerous individuals in a coffee shop earlier this afternoon."

"You don't mean those two children, do you?"

"Yes ma'am. We do not wish to alarm you, but these two were Grimm."

Willow gasped, "Oh my god…"

"We have surveillance footage from the Magic Bean showing that you had a conversation with a Ruby Rose and Jaune Arc," the Sergeant handed Willow the wanted poster.

"Oh yes! I remember those two. They came and asked me if I had a lighter for them."

"Did they ask for anything else?"

"Why no, now that I think about it, they did not. They just asked for a lighter and then I left."

"Well, do you have an idea where they may have gone?"

"Sir, I know that you are simply doing your job, but I am cooking something and I need to get back to it. I have no idea where they went, but I promise that if I spot them again, I will call the you as soon as possible."

"Thank you ma'am, any detail helps us track down these vermin," Sergeant said.

Willow nodded and shut the door. Walking back to the kitchen and slowly cutting the onion, Willow stomped down on the ground twice.

_10:56 AM_

Ruby, Coco, and Velvet walked upstairs to see Willow.

"Well, that was intense," Willow smiled.


	12. Chapter 12: No Haven

_December 3rd, 2040_

_7:37 PM_

_As I sit here, I continue to wonder what went wrong… the things that we did, the decisions that we made that led up to this point… was it simply fate or was it just because of our own lack of thinking carefully._

Velvet was standing next to Ruby's bed, her hand extended towards a glass of water that sat on the bedside table that she had poured for a new spell she had read in her book.

"_Frigidus_…"

The water within the cup froze completely solid. As Velvet cheered, Ruby was aiming her hand at her own cup of water and said the same spell.

"_Frigidus_…"

The water in her cup froze solid, causing her to cheer alongside Velvet. Meanwhile, Jaune and Coco were sitting on the bed, watching their sister and friend cheering.

"Next time officer water shows up, boy will he be in trouble," Coco said.

"Well, the body is mainly water, so you aren't entirely wrong," Ruby said.

Hearing a knock, the four looked to see Willow open the door."

"Dinner is… oh what is happening here?"

Coco flopped onto the bed, "Grandma, thank god you are here. Velvet started a Grimm uprising and I could not stop them."

"Rawr," Velvet said.

Willow chuckled, "Well look, I know that you all enjoy using your powers, but we agreed that there will be no magic. So would you please…?"

The three Grimm changed back to human, putting a smile on Willow's face, "Great. Dinner is ready for all of us. Follow me please."

_1:07 AM_

Taiyang stared at himself in the bathroom mirror, his exhaustion getting to him as he stared at Summer that stood out of the corner of his eye.

"_Tai_."

"You aren't real."

"_You must stop this… if you continue, then you will only experience pain in the future_."

"I have to stop her."

"_Why?_"

"Because I… I can't lose her…"

"_If you capture her, you will lose her forever. But if you let her go, you will lose her temporarily_," Summer said as she got closer to Taiyang, "_Look at me, Tai._"

Taiyang slowly looked towards Summer and saw her, clear as day. He gasped as a tear streamed down his cheek as Summer slowly placed a hand on said cheek, "I am so tired, Summer…"

"_You have to let us go_…_ I can't watch you be in pain anymore._"

Hearing the door open, Taiyang quickly composed himself and turned to see Church and two well dressed men walk in, "You all right there, Tai?"

"Yeah," Tai looked in the mirror and saw Summer was gone, "Just had one of those big yawns. Have you made any progress with finding Jaune and Ruby?"

"Oh I hear ya. I gotta say, your daughter is a smart one. But…" Church said as he began to do his business at the urinal, "Tai, I have some news… this here is Agent Washington and Agent Maine."

"Homeland Security. We have been trying to locate an ally of The Light. We believe that your daughter has come into contact with them," Agent Washington said.

"And how does this help us locate them? We have been looking for hours and—"

"We know. That is because you are focusing on Miss Rose and Mr. Arc, when you should have been focusing on who they spoke with."

_8:10 PM_

The four followed Willow down the stairs and into the dining area to see that there was a small feast set up for all of them.

"I figured that you two have not had a good meal in the last day, so I made it special. Have a seat."

Jaune was the first to move as he practically sprung to his chair, waiting patiently for the go ahead to eat. Ruby rolled her eyes as she took her spot beside Jaune while Velvet and Coco sat across from them and Willow at the head of the table.

"Dig in."

"So Willow," Jaune began as he swallowed his food, "has there been any new updates on the G.D.T.F?"

"They have started to make progress on the CCTV cameras since they have managed to ID both you and Ruby near one of the entrances to the town."

"Is that bad? Do you think that they will find us?"

"If they are relying on old CCTV cameras, then that means that they are running out of ideas. It is safe to say that they are running on a paper trail, but that doesn't rule out the possibility that they will find something. My story matches what the androids recorded at the coffee shop so I do not think that I am a person of interest, at least for the moment."

"Does The Light know that we are coming?"

"I will be sending a message to them a message tonight. They… They will be expecting the two of you within the next day or so."

Coco scoffed, something that Willow noticed, "You know what the funny thing is about the Grimm? No one knows how we they came to be. There was no phenomenal event or new medicine tested. They just… started appearing more and more around the globe. It is that fear of the unknown that has prompted such a harsh response in humanity. Humanity has always seen itself as the apex predator. So when something better, something that humanity cannot understand, appears… humanity responds with methods like the G.D.T.F, the Institutions, and now the G.G.B is what humanity expects to be the solution to this 'issue'. I understand that this might make you all concerned about the next few days. With the G.G.B going into its final vote soon, things are far more stressful than they usually are for both us as well as for this country. But I promise you that things will get better soon. Once The Light transports the four of you across the border, things will be better for everyone."

"That is all I can hope for at this point," Ruby said.

"Willow," Jaune asked, "how did you come into contact with The Light?"

"As you all know, The Light started out in Vermont as a small group of Grimm that was slowly gaining more and more members while remaining undetected. In 2036, there was—"

"The March on Beacon Street…"

"Yes… I still remember that massacre as if it was yesterday. I was watching the aftermath of the protest on the news. The G.D.T.F officers were arresting the Grimm that were still breathing and dragging off the ones that were killed. At the time, I had only heard about the Grimm so I had conflicting feelings. Then, I heard something outside and decided to see what it was saw that it was, in fact, a Grimm. He had a bullet wound in his side and fear in his eyes. He looked at me and I recognized his face from the news. It was Hazel, the leader of the Burlington faction."

"What did you do?"

"He asked me for help, so I did. I brought him into this home and tended to his wounds to the best of my abilities. It took him nearly three days to get back on his feet. It took nearly three days until he was on his feet again. When he did finally recover, he told me that he was in my debt. He offered me money, but I refused. He then offered me safe passage to Liberteria as his way of saying thanks, despite me being a human, but I declined that as well."

"What happened after that," Ruby asked, enjoying this tale.

"He said that he understood my decision, so then he asked me what I would like in exchange. I asked him what The Light does, which surprised him but he explained it nonetheless. But when he finished explaining it, I offered him my services. I told him that for as long as I can, I will house any Grimm on the East Coast that need food, water, rest, and transportation to Burlington."

"Why?"

"Hazel asked me the same thing. I told him that I most likely did not have that much time left on this planet. I would much rather spend what little is left of my good years helping everyone that I can for as long as I can. Since then, I have been an ally of The Light for a good seven years now."

"Have you ever been to Liberteria?"

"No, I have not, and I very much doubt that I shall see before I die. The journey alone would be too much stress for me to handle and I would rather pass in my sleep in a place that I am familiar with. Now, onto more important matters. When it comes to Burlington, with it being this close to the G.G.B vote, the authorities will be monitoring the highways heading north so we should take the backroads. I suggest that you all get some sleep, for we will have a long drive ahead of us."

"What if the G.D.T.F traces us back here?"

"If they do, then there is nothing that can be done. I can only hope that we did not mess up somehow."

Willow's words seemed unsure, leaving a sense of doubt in most of the children at the table, with Velvet being the only exception as she was happily enjoying her food.

Realizing the mood that she set, Willow sighed, "I apologize if our discussions have caused a loss of appetite for some of you. Coco, I would like to speak with you privately. the rest of you, I suggest that you get some rest. We will be leaving early tomorrow morning."

_December 4th, 2040_

_1:12 AM_

The house was quiet and everyone was asleep. At least, it was quiet, until the phone began to ring. Willow got out of bed and answered the closest phone to her, which was at her bedside.

"Hello there," Willow said.

'Hello there, Mrs. Adel, my name is Agent Washington from Homeland Security. I apologize for calling so late, but we saw a recording from an android in a coffee shop and we have a few questions for you.'

"I must apologize, but some officers have already asked me questions about the conversation I had with the Grimm."

'Well, in any event, I am sending a patrol car for you. It should not take more than an hour or so.'

Willow hung up the phone with a look of sadness on her face…

She had been caught.

_1:15 AM_

Ruby was enjoying the dream that she was having when she was suddenly shaken awake to the sight of Jaune screaming, "Ruby! Wake up!"

Exhausted, Ruby groaned as she asked, "…What?"

"It is the G.D.T.F," Ruby heard Coco, "They have found us."

Ruby was now fully awake upon hearing this news.

"How?"

"It doesn't matter how, what matters is that they found us and we have to get out of here now!"

"Heads up Ruby!"

Turning her head towards Jaune, Ruby was quick to grab her heavy bag and strap it on. Once she had secured her bag, the four saw the door open and Willow walk inside, holding an old but clean pistol in her hand.

"We must hurry! They will be here soon. Follow me, quickly."

"Grandma? What is happening," Velvet asked, terrified by what was happening.

"You and your sister will be going on a trip with these two."

Coco looked to her grandmother with a look of confusion, "You're coming with us, right?"

"No, I will not," Willow said as they made it to the entrance of the garage, "The truck will only fit four people. I shall buy you some time, but you must leave the city as fast as you can."

"Grandma—"

"There is no time to argue about it, Coco."

As Willow grabbed the handle of the garage door, the five of them heard a pound against the door.

"Mrs. Adel, we're here to take you to the precinct for questioning."

_I could see the fear in Willow's eyes. She knew what was coming and, deep down, I did too._

"I will handle the police. Go hide in the garage. I will join you four shortly."

Willow hid the gun in the pocket of her gown as she approached the door, allowing the four children to hide in the garage.

As the four were hiding away, they were trying their hardest to make as little noise as possible. Proceeding inside, Ruby managed to shut the door without making much noise before placing her ear against the door.

While Ruby was listening, Jaune was pacing back and forth, mumbling incoherent sentences that had the word "shit" in them, while Coco was comforting Velvet, who was on the brink of tears.

"Ah! Hello officers, how may I— my goodness, what are you doing?"

"Where are they, Adel?"

"Where are who?"

"We know that you are harboring wanted Grimm here, Mrs. Adel."

"I am afraid that I—"

"The Grimm, Willow, where are they?"

As the Grimm were waiting in horrific silence, one of them broke said silence.

"Coco, I'm scared," Velvet cried.

The others looked at Velvet in fear, hoping that the officers did not hear her.

But they did.

"What was that?"

"Oh, my granddaughter must have been woken up by the noise."

"Let's go check it out, Lopez."

The four heard two sets footprints leading up to the door, prompting the Grimm to back away from the door quickly.

"Ruby, do you have any resources," Jaune whispered.

"No," Ruby said.

Ruby looked to Coco, who was covering Velvet from any possible harm.

"I told the officers who came by earlier that I have no idea where they went. Now, I would appreciate it if you would leave my house."

"Get back, Ma'am. Now!"

"Command, we have a noise disturbance coming from the garage. Proceeding to check it now."

_We were at a disadvantage. There was nothing for us to use, so all we could rely on was Coco as she had her gun aimed at the door. _

Seeing the door knob slowly turn, the four readied themselves for whatever was going to come through that door.

But the door never opened as there was a sudden gunshot that echoed throughout the house.

"Oh shit! Shots fired, shot—"

A second gunshot echoed throughout the house, Velvet now screaming while tears streamed down her face. The door opened and Willow walked in with the freshly fired gun in her hand

"Grandma…" Coco said

Willow walked up to Coco and handed the gun to her, "If you are going to protect Velvet, you cannot freeze."

Coco took the gun and turned the safety on, "I promise to protect her."

"Thank you… You must all leave now. Can either of you drive?"

"I can," Jaune said.

Willow grabbed the keys to the truck and tossed them to Jaune, who caught them.

"Get in. I will buy as much time as I can."

"Grandma, come with us," Velvet cried.

"I'm sorry, my little bunny, but someone must make sure that you escape safely," Willow stroked Velvet's hair with her clean hand, "Quickly now."

Coco dragged Velvet into the car as she screamed and tried to fight her way out of her sister's grip while Jaune got in and started the car.

"Ruby, take this," Willow handed Ruby a piece of paper, "When you meet with Hazel, give it to him. He will know that you can be trusted."

"Ruby! Come on!" Jaune said as he got in.

Ruby looked at Willow for a final moment, "Thank you, Willow."

With that final act of thanks, Ruby got into the truck and they quickly drove off. Willow watched as the children drove off with a tearful smile on her face, "_Vale… et fortuna_."

_1:20 AM_

As Jaune continued driving away from the sirens, Velvet screamed and screamed as Coco tried to comfort her.

"Velvet, you need to calm down," Coco said.

"I WANT TO GO BACK," Velvet yelled.

"Coco," Jaune said as he tried to continue driving, "I need Velvet to calm down."

"I am trying… Ruby, can you give me a hand?"

Ruby turned and placed a hand on Velvet's head, "_Insomnia_."

Velvet's eyes rolled up before closing and Velvet was out like a light.

"She should be asleep for an hour or two," Ruby said.

"Thank you…"

Now in a terrible silence, the four drove past the sign that was more of an insult to them…

Now Leaving Haven

Hope You Had A Good Time


	13. Chapter 13: Reaching Limits

_December 4th, 2040_

_1:30 AM_

Taiyang got out of his car as he approached the house. He had just missed a fight, it seems as a police officer was getting bandaged up.

Seeing Agent Washington and Maine outside of the house, he approached them and asked, "What happened?"

"Old lady put up one hell of a fight," Agent Washington said.

"And?"

"The fight ended," Agent Maine quickly said.

Taiyang sighed, "I needed her alive. She could have told us where they went…"

"I doubt that very much, Lieutenant. She had already killed local task force members and would have killed more had Agent Maine not stepped in."

"Are there any leads as to where they may have gone?"

"The truck is missing from the garage. We put out a BOLO out, but I think it is safe to assume that they are long gone."

"Dammit…"

"I will admit. Adel was a smart one. Killing the two officers drew the authorities here, so that gave the Grimm time to escape. Plus this little fight bought them even more time."

"There is only one place left for them to go," Agent Maine said.

"Burlington," Taiyang said.

"Eh see Maine? He's onto it."

"Hmph…" Maine scoffed.

"So what happens now," Taiyang asked.

"Our job here is done. Agent Maine and I were assigned here to take care of the Grimm transport and we did. Burlington belongs to Agent Callows. Let us head back to the precinct and I will inform Agent Callows that you will be joining him."

Taiyang nodded and proceeded into the house. There was a blood splatter across the walls, most likely the injured cop's…

Proceeding upstairs, Taiyang walked into the bathroom and shut the door. Staring at himself in the mirror, Taiyang could see the effects of this job… his eyes were purple with exhaustion, his color pale, and he even could tell a few grey from blonde hairs. As he stared at the mirror, he heard her again.

"_Tai…_"

"Shut up, Summer…"

"_The more you follow, the farther you fall… should you continue_—"

Taiyang smashed his fist into the mirror, specifically where he could see Summer's reflection.

He did not feel any pain, perhaps due to shock, as he stared at his bleeding hand.

"I will find you, Ruby… I must…"

_5:38 AM_

Ruby had finally woken up, but she did not feel rested…

Looking into the back seat, Ruby saw Velvet was still asleep, but Coco was still awake, her eyes red and irritated from the tears that seemingly just stopped.

"Hey Coco."

"Hey…"

Looking towards the driver's seat, Jaune was exhausted… his eyes slowly shutting before he had to force himself to stay awake.

"Jaune, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he snapped.

"Hey, she was just asking a question."

"Well I gave her a damn answer, is that okay," Jaune asked.

It was obvious that tension was getting to the limit as Ruby butted in, "Guys, we are all just a bit tired from what happened this morning and—"

"Oh no, it's fine. Just add it to the list of shit that gets in our way and we will continue going on to most likely another fucked up scenario."

"Oh I am sorry that my grandmother's death is so _in the way_ for you," Coco said.

Jaune let out a groan as he pulled over to the side of the road.

"What are you doing," Coco asked.

"I have been driving for hours," Jaune said as he pulled over alongside a forest, "I'm taking a break."

"Are you crazy?"

But Jaune did not care to listen to Coco. Instead, he just looked back at Coco and said, "I will be back in half an hour."

"Fine, but in half an hour, Velvet and I will be leaving," Coco said.

Jaune slammed the door and proceeded into the forest.

"What the hell is his problem," Coco asked Ruby.

"I'm gonna go talk to him," Ruby said as she got out of the car and followed Jaune into the forest.

_5:40 AM_

Jaune walked into the snow covered forest, angrier than he had ever been… He quickly looked to a tree beside him and placed his hand on the cold bark and said, "_Ignis_."

As he removed his hand, a burning hand print slowly turned darker and darker until a flame ignited. However, that flame was quickly put out by a sudden blast of water. Jaune, with his black and red eyes, stared at Ruby as she still had her hand extended.

"Are you crazy," Ruby asked.

Jaune looked to Ruby, his eyes narrowed, "I said I wanted to be left alone."

"Not if you are just gonna set fire to a whole forest." Ruby said.

Jaune gritted his teeth and quickly aimed his hand at Ruby, "_Aer_!"

Ruby's Grimm eyes widened in shock as she was sent flying back into the snow. Quickly getting up, she saw Jaune aiming his hands at the ground, "_Aqua_!"

Two clumps of snow beneath Jaune melted and flew to his hands before he shot the spell at Ruby again, but this time, Ruby yelled, "_Aer_!"

The two spells collided and turned into a small flurry of snowflakes as Ruby stood up.

"Jaune, you need to calm down."

"NO! Okay, I am done. I had this plan that I had been making for months. Then, you come along and everything goes to shit."

"Jaune—"

"I would have better off if I left you back in New York," Jaune yelled as he then shot a gust of air at Ruby.

Ruby aimed her hands at her feet and said, "_Frigidus_."

The snow that covered her feet solidified into ice as the air spell passed her. But that was only a distraction as Ruby then saw a fist come right at her. Using some basic defense her father taught her, Ruby blocked the punch and punched Jaune in the ribs.

"The train, the Hunter, fucking Haven… IT IS ALL BECAUSE OF YOUR FUCKING DAD!"

As Ruby stared at her friend, she could see the anger in his eyes. But there were other emotions in those eyes… pain… regret…

"Jaune?"

Jaune had his hand extended for another spell, but his hand was shaking so violently that he grunted in pain as he lowered it. Jaune fell to his knees and began to cry as he stared at Ruby.

"I'm so tired, Ruby…"

Ruby took a step towards Jaune as he just kept crying. Kneeling down, Ruby placed her hand on Jaune's shoulder, "It's okay…"

Jaune leaned in and embraced Ruby in a hug as he cried into her shoulder.

_5:50 AM_

Ruby and Jaune, who had finally calmed down, sat against the singed tree as the snow fell onto their shoulders.

"I lied…"

"About?"

"About how I would be better off if I left you in New York."

"It didn't seem that way, Jaune," Ruby said.

Jaune placed his hand on Ruby's, "Everything just…"

Ruby returned the hand hold, "I know. But James, this can't happen again, okay? If we are all gonna make it to Liberteria, we have to protect one another. Okay?"

Jaune looked at Ruby and nodded.

"Good, let's go before Coco actually leaves us behind."

_6:01 AM_

"Goddamn it, where are the keys," Coco groaned.

"Coco," Ruby said.

Coco looked towards the forest to see Jaune and Ruby walking back towards the car.

"Are you calm now," Coco asked.

Jaune took a step forward, "Coco, I apologize for how I acted."

"Well, I can't say that I was a saint either. Let's just get to Burlington and we can hopefully get some sleep."

Jaune extended his hand, and hesitantly Coco shook it. The three older children got back into the truck and drove off before Velvet even woke up to know what had happened.


	14. Chapter 14: Burlington

_December 4th, 2040_

_8:30 AM_

As the group got closer to their destination, they began to gain more of a bond with one another. They exchanged tales about this and that, some of the tales impressing Velvet, and some stories about the few times that they almost got caught.

"And I thought that my mom caught me, but she thought that I had a lighter and searched my room for cigarettes," Jaune said.

Ruby and Coco laughed while Velvet looked ahead.

"Look," She pointed.

The three looked in the direction that Velvet was pointing and saw the city just up ahead, the sun had just barely rising over the horizon.

"We made it Ruby… we made it," Jaune smiled.

But they were not the only ones who were arriving at the city that day…

_9:12 AM_

Taiyang walked into the police station to see that all of the police officers were replaced with military soldiers, one of which noticed Tai and placed his hand forward.

"Citizen, the precinct is under military control."

"Military control?"

"With the recent news about the G.G.B, we have been advised to take over as Burlington is close to the Canadian Border."

"Look, I am Lieutenant Long, I am here to see Agent Callows," Tai pulled out his badge and handed it to the soldier.

The soldier examined the badge and handed it back to Taiyang.

"Follow me," the soldier said.

Taiyang followed soldier as he walked into the G.D.T.F department. The room was empty, with only one man standing in the center as he stared at a wall of monitors.

"Agent Callows, I presume?"

The man looked at Taiyang before looking back at the monitors.

"Taiyang Xiao Long. The infamous fifty-eight year old lieutenant, and head of Queen's Grimm Detainment Task Force, who is chasing his Grimm daughter, Ruby Rose, and her Grimm accomplice, Jaune Arc. I must admit that you are an interesting type of human, Mr. Long."

"What type of human is that?"

Agent Callows looked at Taiyang, "The kind that will stop at nothing to get results. I see myself as the same type of person. I look forward to working with you and perhaps, you might save your daughter from the coming hellfire."

Agent Callows gave a very sadistic smirk and chuckle as he looked back at the monitors.

"What do you mean the coming hellfire?"

"The vote for the G.G.B is done now, and the votes are being counted. And might I say, it does not look good for the Grimm. It is quite disappointing, I must admit."

"What?"

"The Grimm could have been valuable soldiers, but I am not the one making the rules, I only follow my orders to the period. Don't you agree?"

"All that I care to talk about at the moment is finding Ruby," Taiyang said.

"Hmph… Very well, let us begin the game of cat and mouse," Agent Callows said.

_8:45 AM_

As Jaune pulled into an alleyway of the town, it took every fiber of Ruby's being not to shout in joy that they had arrived. The town itself was relatively quiet at the moment, its buildings had themed decorations. Looking out from the alleyway, Ruby saw children were laughing in their pajamas in the middle of the street.

"Be on the lookout. We might be ahead of the police but that doesn't mean that the G.D.T.F isn't aware of… us." Jaune said as he looked down the alley to make sure the coast was clear.

"Did you notice the military here," Coco asked.

"Yeah… that isn't a good sign," Jaune said.

"It looked like they were setting up a checkpoint on the northern part of the city as we came in, so as long as we steer clear of that area, we should be fine," Ruby said.

Velvet, still in the car, turned on the radio.

'—have become a greater threat than any of us could have possibly realized.'

"Vel, turn that off."

"No, wait… listen," Ruby said.

'That is why I have no choice in the matter anymore and I am listening to the voices of you, my fellow Americans. I have begun moving domestic troops to guard our neighboring border into Canada. While this will take time and resources, know that many cities that are close have begun to volunteer their resources to help in any way that they can. This is what America is, fighting our common enemy as one. I must be going now, but expect a result on the G.G.B soon.'

"No, I'm turning it off," Coco said.

As Coco turned off the radio, she noticed the fear in Velvet's eyes.

"Hey, it's okay Vel," Coco said as she held her sister's hand.

"I want to go home, Coco," Velvet said.

"We can't go home, Vel. The people who knew where we live were going to hurt us, so we had to leave and now we are going to a new home. One where no one can hurt us," Coco said.

"Will Grandma be there?"

"Maybe, but we have to get to our new home to be sure."

"Coco, we need to find The Light. Do you know where they are?"

Coco backed away from Velvet to look at Jaune, "When Willow and I would deliver Grimm, the transaction spots would be different, but it was always in the same area."

"Where is that," Ruby asked.

_9:20 AM_

Taiyang woke up form his sudden slumber with a confused look on his face.

"What happened?"

Looking back towards the monitors, he saw Agent Callows was still staring at the monitors, "You collapsed from exhaustion, so I had the private move you to a more comfortable spot."

"Why don't I remember falling asleep?"

"You have been chasing your daughter for days without stopping, it appears that your body finally gave in. It does not matter now that you are awake."

"Well… has there been any progress?"

"There was a camera recording of a truck matching Willow Adel's coming into the city. However that truck has disappeared. I believe that they likely ditched the vehicle and are searching for The Light at this very moment. Until there is more news, I must insist that you get some more rest."

"No, that isn't—"

"Unfortunately," As Agent Callows said that word, Private Caboose walked in, "I was not asking you for permission. I refuse to work with someone who is not at peak condition."

Taiyang looked to the private and sighed before walking towards the door.

"Should any news come regarding your daughter, I shall order someone to bring you."

As Taiyang walked out of the room and he could hear the door shut all the way, Agent Callows focused on a monitor that showed Ruby and the others running down an alleyway.

"Where are you going, little Rose?"

_9:21_

Walking into the break room, Taiyang saw that there was no one in there, but there was a cot with a pillow and blanket.

"This is where you will be staying," Private Caboose said.

Taiyang nodded and the Private proceeded away from the break room, leaving Taiyang alone with his thoughts, or rather his thoughts and Summer.

As she stood before him, he saw the look of anger and fear in her eyes.

_"Tai, you must stop! Please!_"

"I can't…"

"_Should you continue, and you will find pain and death._"

"I am going crazy…" Taiyang said as he sat down on the cot.

"_You know it too, that agent is not to be trusted with our daughter_."

"He will help me find Rub—"

"_You would help him kill Ruby_!"

Taiyang stood up and yelled, "If it comes to that, then it will be out of my hands!"

As he stared at the horrific look on his late wife's face, Taiyang turned to sit back down.

"_Then that night, both you and I died in that crash._"

Looking back towards Summer, Taiyang saw that she was gone and in her place, Private Caboose walked in, "Did you say something?"

"No… I was just thinking about something."

_9:27 AM_

"We're here," Coco said.

While Velvet seemed happy to "arrive", Ruby and Jaune were just confused by the location.

"Coco, this is just a park."

"No shit, just follow me."

Coco walked ahead of the others until she was standing on top of a pothole.

"Here," Coco said.

Following Coco to the grate, Ruby was the first to notice what was different.

"Jaune look," Ruby said as she kneeled down and placed her hand on the pothole.

Along the detailing of the lid, it said '_Libertas Et Alii_'.

"Freedom for others," Ruby said.

"And when did you learn Latin fluently?"

"I had some time in the car," Ruby said.

"Jaune, keep an eye on that way. Vel and I will watch this direction. Ruby, get the pothole open."

"On it," Ruby said as she pulled out her translation book.

'Ferrum: iron'

Ruby aimed her hand at the pothole and said, "_Ferrum_."

As Ruby felt the connection with the iron plate, she struggled slightly as she slowly raised the plate out of the ground. Once it had been lifted, Ruby flung her arms slightly to the right slamming the plate onto the ground and cracking the cement.

"I got it," Ruby said as she sighed from slight exhaustion.

"Good, now follow me," Coco said as she climbed down.

_9:45 AM_

Tyrian watched the kids remove the pothole and slowly go into the sewers.

"Interesting."

"Shall I go and wake Mr. Long, sir?"

"No."

"Sir?"

"Should Mr. Long discover where his daughter is, he will try to extract her and that will only end badly for him now that they have gone into the sewers. A network that has many entrances and exits? He would more likely die from the smell before a Grimm kills him."

"Very well, sir."

_9:46 AM_

As Ruby made it to the bottom, the smell had quickly filled her nostrils and she gagged.

"Oh god… this is disgusting."

"Not now, Ruby," Jaune said.

"What do you mean—"

"We aren't alone," Coco said.

As soon as Coco said that, Ruby saw two figures running towards them from both sides. They had random clothes on, the only thing that they all had in common were the white bandanas on their faces. Before the four could reaction, they all had pulled out knives.

"Coco," Jaune asked.

But when he looked at Coco, he saw that she was unfazed by the supposed thieves.

"Who are you," One of the masked individuals asked.

"We seek The Light."

"The Light? There is no light here," The four heard a man with a very deep voice say as he walked out from around a corner. He was older looking, but his bandana hid his face as well.

Coco took a step towards the man, seemingly unfazed by his intimidating look. But as she took that step one of the individuals placed the tip of their knife against her neck.

"Hold," The man said as he waited for Coco to speak.

"_Dixit hoc ante me_."

There was a pause and the air was foul as he chuckled and nodded his head, "_Et ill respondit quod in rostra lingua_. You claim to search for The Light, and yet I still have not seen any evidence that you met with any of our allies. Who did you meet with?"

"Willow Adel," Jaune said.

The Grimm looked to their supposed leader who just said, "Show me proof."

Ruby stepped forward and handed the man the paper that she was given by Willow. Taking it in his hands, the man said, "_Revelet deus absconsa tua_."

The paper began to glow and showed a second symbol. The man's eyes widened and looked at us.

"Then it is as I fear… Haven has truly fallen," He said as he looked to Coco and Velvet, "I knew your grandmother for years. She saved my life."

"You're Hazel," Ruby said.

Hazel removed his bandana and nodded before he looked at his fellow Grimm, "Lower your weapons. These are lost Grimm seeking freedom like the others."

The four Grimm sheathed their blades and pulled lightbulbs.

"_Clara_," They all said.

Ruby watched in awe as all four of the lightbulbs activated in their hands, revealing more of their disgusting surroundings.

"If you would follow me," He said before looking at the Grimm behind Ruby and Jaune, "Keep lookout."

The two nodded put their lights away and ran deeper into the sewer system.

"We have been keeping up with you two," Hazel said to Ruby and Jaune, "I must say that I am most impressed with the things that you have done. You two would make fine members of The Light."

"Well, we have heard much about you, so to hear that would be a compliment, sir," Ruby said, "Is it true that you took down the Maine Institution?"

"It required the cooperation of those within as well as stealth. That wall came down before they even knew what had hit them."

"What about the March on Beacon? What happened there," Jaune asked.

"That bloodbath? There is not much to say. We marched, we fought, we lost. Had it not been for Willow, I surely would be dead alongside our brothers and sisters in arms. The people we lost… I still see some of their faces when I sleep," Hazel said.

Looking towards Coco and Velvet, he realized something, "Velvet, do you still have that translation book I gave you?

Velvet looked to her sister for confirmation.

"Go ahead, Vel," Coco said.

Velvet reached into her bag and pulled out the book to show Hazel, who smiled at the sight of the text.

"That is good to see. I would hate to lose what little is left of our language. What about the two of you?"

"I have my own translation book, but it is not as helpful as Velvet's," Ruby said.

"Well, I must say that regardless of that small disadvantage, you two have done much in such a short amountof time."

"There were some moments when things got tense," Ruby said.

Jaune looked down.

"Many have had these moments of darkness. This is not uncommon during these stressful times. Sometimes, we say things that we do not truly mean and some things must be said to reveal the painful truth of a situation. The strength of our bonds are not tested by the restraints during a fight, but how we rebuild once the fight is over."

The group turned and reached the end of a sewer passage.

"Hazel, have you starting to forget your way down here?"

"Please Miss Adel, you know me to be better than that," Hazel said as he placed his hand on the wall. Pushing forward, Hazel fazed through the wall, shocking the children.

Deciding to go head first and eyes shut, Ruby walked through the wall and heard Hazel.

"Welcome… to The Light."

Opening her eyes, Ruby saw something taht felt unreal. It was a giant "empty room" that was filled with wonder. Lights dangling from the ceiling, a small makeshift kitchen with a man cooking some food, there was even holiday music playing. A Grimm who was recently wounded was resting in a corner of the room with another Grimm beside him.

As Jaune and the others proceeded through the fake wall, Ruby released an audible, "Whoa…"

Hazel chuckled, "I appreciate your childish wonder, Miss Rose."

"This is place is amazing…" Ruby said.

"How do you guys manage to hide out here," Jaune asked.

"We keep everything timed to what is happening on the surface. At this moment," Hazel checked his watch, "ten in the morning, they are celebrating the christmas festival across town, so we are enjoying a small festival of our own. During this time, we also send someone up top to get some supplies for the others."

"Wouldn't that be suspicious," Coco asked.

"Yes, and that is why we send people out on random days to different stores. That way, the authorities would be unable to track us thoroughly."

"Hazel," the group heard a man say as he approached Hazel, "We have a connection with Liberteria."

"Thank you Sun. My apologies, but I must go now. Your sleeping areas are over there," Hazel pointed to the corner of the room, "Sun can show you to them. May The Light guide you."

As he walked away, Sun guided the children to their sleeping area.

"Hey guys, so we have only a few rules. No explosive spells or any illegal spells. No drugs and no leaving withoutt approving it with Hazel. Pietro is our chef and makes a killer curry, isnt that right Pietro?"

Pietro chuckled, "This boy eats that stuff up like his life depends on it."

"That's because its so good! Anyways, you may have noticed the Grimm over in the corner who is being healed."

"What happened to him," Velvet asked.

"He got injured getting here and our healer is trying to fix him up," Sun said.

Making it to the corner, the children saw that there were four sleeping bags on the ground. Taking a step forward, Sun kneeled down.

"Check this out… _fieri lectus_."

Within an instant, the dirty sleeping bag became a clean and neat bed for one.

"Whoa…" Velvet said.

"Try it out."

The three Grimm walked to their respected beds and said the same spell, creating their own representation of what a bed was. When Ruby opened her eyes, she saw that it was her bed from home and while it was cool to see that the spell work, she was sad to have a painful reminder of home.

"Well, I have to go check in with Hazel. Food will be ready soon. Welcome to The Light."

"Here, let's get you out of those shoes Vel," Coco said.

As Coco helped her sister, Ruby embraced Jaune in a tight hug.

"Whoa," Jaune chuckled, "What's up Ruby?"

"We made it…" Ruby said.

"I'll say that when we get across the border," Jaune said as he patted Ruby's back, "But… I guess it is a nice feeling that we made it this far."

Breaking contact, Jaune walked over to his bed and fell on to it. As he laid there, Jaune started laughing.

"What's so funny?" I asked, chuckling at his laughter.

"I've been gone from home for a short amount of time, but it feels like ages since I have been in my own bed."

Ruby sat on her own bed and it was just as she remembered it… she just wishes that it was her real bed.

_December 4th, 2040_

_4:30 PM_

Senator Hill stood with her supporters in a deadly silence as she saw Vice President Hargrove appear before them.

"After checking the ballots multiple times, seven to be exact, we have a final number for the vote of the Grimm Genocide Bill. The results are in and the leaders of every state have made their decision. The Grimm Genocide Bill has been passed."

Robin shut her eyes and lowered her head, "And so we have become the monsters… God help us all."


	15. Chapter 15: The Calm Before the Storm

_December 4th, 2040_

_5:37 PM_

Taiyang woke up after sleeping for a good couple of hours. As he woke up, though, he felt a sense of regret… as if something in his gut knew that something bad had happened. Looking to his phone, he saw that it had buzzed numerous times, so he checked his notifications to see that Raven was calling incessantly.

Deciding that it would be best to call her back, Taiyang was surprised to hear how quick she answered the phone.

'Tai?'

"Hey, sorry I—"

'Do you have Ruby?'

"No, Agent Callows was trying to locate her last I checked in. Why?"

'Oh god… Tai, you need to turn on the news.'

Taiyang put Raven on speaker and opened his phone to see the live video of President Ironwood.

'My fellow Americans…'

_5:27 PM_

Ruby was asleep in her bed the last bit of energy that she felt was drained from her system. However, she was having a very bizarre dream. She sat in a forest, against a tree with her body unable to move. All she could do was stare straight ahead as she saw a blurry figure approaching her. She tried to get a better glimpse, but she could not tell who it was that was approaching her. But before she could discover the answer, she was woken up by Jaune.

"Huh? Wha…"

"Hey, sorry, I was just letting you know that it was time for dinner."

"I guess I could use some food…" Ruby said as she felt her stomach growl, "Our previous cuisines did not really satisfy my hunger."

"Well it was beef jerky and soda, so… at least your sodium levels are through the roof, so that is something."

Ruby chuckled as she got out of bed, wearing a lighter and more relaxing outfit of pajama pants, and a tank top.

"Can you… you know," Ruby blushed.

"Oh right, sorry," Jaune said as he walked away.

Having the small amount of privacy, Ruby changed into some fresh and lighter clothing. Once she was dressed appropriately, Ruby jogged out of the living area and saw Jaune was waiting for her.

"Ready?"

"Yup," Ruby smiled.

As they proceeded to the dinner table, Ruby noticed Coco and Velvet were eating already.

"Hey guys," Coco said as Ruby and Jaune sat down opposite of them.

"Here you go," Pietro handed the two a bowl of stew.

"Thank you, Pietro," Ruby said.

"So Ruby, your friend here was telling me that you stole a train from New York, " The chef said.

"He probably made it sound much more dramatic, didn't he?"

"He said that you were in his arms, bridal style, and that there were explosions at every moment," Coco said.

"Oh did he now," Ruby said as she and Coco started laughing.

"I did not," Jaune chuckled.

"Miss Rose, if I may, I have asked these two to tell their stories, but now I wish to hear the story of when you used your first spell."

"My first spell?"

"Why of course, everyone has an interesting tale."

"Well, it was in 2034, I had just gotten home from a bad day of school and my dad was still at work."

"2034… weren't you like eight then? What is a bad day for an eight year old," Coco asked.

Ruby blushed, "That isn't the point."

"Wait, let me guess," Jaune said as he stared at Ruby, "You… failed a math test."

"No… I may have said to a boy that I liked him and he laughed at me."

Coco was drinking water when Ruby said that, so she started choking from laughter as she tried to clear her throat. Meanwhile, Ruby was blushing from embarrassment.

"I was eight," Ruby said.

Jaune and Pietro now started laughing, then Velvet, and then finally Ruby started laughing.

"Okay," Jaune said as he finally stopped laughing, "What did you do?"

"Well… I came home. Dad was away and Penny wasn't with us yet—"

"Penny," Coco asked.

"Our android."

"Ah… Continue."

"So, I ran to my room, fell on my bed and screamed into my pillow. As I screamed, I realized that I had actually used the wind spell and launched myself into the ceiling by accident."

The others made their own pained expressions as Ruby continued, "When I looked in my mirror, I was in shock. I thought that I was dreaming and looked in the bathroom mirror to see if what I saw was true, and as you can all guess, it was true. Luckily, Grimm were starting to appear around the country. So when I looked up facts about the Grimm, there was a section that I saw that explained what spells they use. Luckily, there was a spell to hide my eyes. When my dad asked why there was a crack in the ceiling, I told him I was having a bad day at school and threw a baseball and it cracked the ceiling. Cost me a week of no TV, but that was much better than the other option."

"I can't even imagine the stress of living under the roof of a G.D.T.F officer."

"Well… it was tough at points, I'll tell you that. One wrong phrase and I could have been in chains heading to the Institution by the time I was ten."

"Hey where is that guy who showed us around," Ruby asked.

"Sun? He is probably keeping an eye on the news and using the radio again."

"So what is his story, anyways," Jaune asked, "He seems a bit too… hyper for this situation."

"Sun… he has a long story. He is one, possibly the one, survivor of the Main faction."

That shocked Coco, "Maine?! How did he get out of Maine? Last I heard, they filled the hideouts with mustard gas."

"They did," Hazel said as he took a seat beside the fellow Grimm and Coco, "It was a mess. I told Cardin to move but it was too late… they came during the night and began to detain Grimm as they screamed in agony… Sun only survived by being in the attic and having a lucky fall."

"Oh my god…"

"He claims that a few others made it out as well and have been in hiding, so he has been using our radio and using coded messages in the hopes of a response. He still believes that they are out there, which is why he tries to keep a positive attitude. It does also help to not feel so hopeless during these times…"

The group had nothing to say for that sudden reveal…

"We all have different stories and yet, it has led us all here. Here, it does not matter what we were. We are all one thing now… family. Here, we are brothers and sisters. And by the tomorrow's end, you shall all be across the border and join your fellow brothers and sisters in Canada." Hazel said.

"What about you and Sun?" Jaune asked.

"We have a duty here, just as the other members of The Light here do. To guide those like us who are lost and show them the way to _libertas_."

Suddenly, Sun ran from out from the other room in a panic, "Hazel!"

"What?"

"We have a problem. Like a big, BIG problem. It's the news."

Hazel, Pietro, and Sun ran into the room Sun came from, shortly followed by the injured Grimm and the Grimm who was healing him.

'My fellow Americans, for the last six years, we have lived in a time of fear. These people who have unknown amounts of power… the Grimm, have plagued our planet for the last six years. Ever since the first reports of people with these dangerous powers, we, as a united nation, feared what these individuals may do with these powers. We tried to place them in Institutions where we could hold them as we relentlessly try to find a cure for them. The results have only ended in violence and needless human casualties. A group calling themselves 'The Light' has attacked these Institutes, setting hundreds of these dangerous individuals out into the streets of our good country. After multiple Institutions have been unjustly destroyed, officers needlessly killed, and hundreds of thousands wasted… I believe that we have tried long enough and it clear that they cannot and do not wish to cured. The Senate put on the table, a bill that was considered unethical at first, but has now become a necessity… called the Grimm Genocide Bill. It has been in discussion for months, and finally the bill has been passed by the Senate.'

"No…" Coco said as she held Velvet's hand.

'As I speak now, there are dozens of military checkpoints being set up in major cities. I have ordered the Institutions to neutralize all of their Grimm and instruct any of you who are in the company of Grimm to report them to the nearest police station or risk being considered an accomplice. I know that some may find this unethical, but know that this is to protect the nation as a whole from any possible domestic terrorist attack, especially from attacks that are performed by an individual as dangerous as the Grimm. May God bless us and may God bless the United States of America.'

'Mr. President! Mr. President!'

_5:45 PM_

Taiyang stared at the TV as Raven spoke first.

'Tai?'

Lowering his head, tears in his eyes, he heard her.

"_Do not kill what little is left of us, Tai. Let us live by letting her go_."

"I… I have to go…" Taiyang said as he sat on his bed and began crying.

_5:48 PM_

"Agent Callows, I am here to inform you that President Ironwood has announced the G.G.B has been passed by the Senate."

Tyrian chuckled as he stood up, "I want every Hunter drone ready, every gun cleaned and ready, every soldier rested and ready. The Grimm will try to leave by tomorrow. And I will take them down… all of them."

"What about Lieutenant Long, sir?"

"If he wishes to join us on the hunt, then he can."

_5:50 PM_

Hazel turned off the television, making the room dreadfully silent.

"Oh my god…" Sun said as he sat on the ground.

"What are we gonna do now," The Grimm healer said.

"Calm down Nora," The wounded Grimm said.

"NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO BE CALM REN," Nora yelled.

"Enough!" Hazel yelled.

The room was, once again, silenced by the Hazel's loud yell.

"The plan is still the same. The other members of The Light and I shall plot out the best route tonight and inform you of the plan by early tomorrow morning," Hazel said. "I suggest you all get some rest. We have a long day tomorrow. Sun, get the others and let's meet over by the map. Pietro, it appears that we will need to take down everything."

The two members of The Light nodded and went off to go do their tasks.

"What about us," Coco asked.

"You should all get some rest," Hazel said as he rubbed his eyes.

"All those Grimm in the institutions… They won't even be able to defend themselves," Ren said.

"Hey, we should get some rest as well…" Jaune said.

As Ruby was about to leave, she looked at Hazel as he sat down near the radio and television as if in defeat.

"Give me a second," Ruby said.

Jaune nodded and walked back towards the beds. Ruby looked at Hazel as she slowly began walking over to him. Noticing her, Hazel sighed.

"Miss Rose, you should get some rest."

"I think I can manage a couple more minutes," Ruby said.

Hazel chuckled.

"Gretchen would have liked you… before all of this," Hazel said.

"Gretchen?"

"My sister, she wasn't like us, but she was still a good friend to The Light… she died in the March on Beacon Street. Died right in my arms, right through her head… I couldn't do anything about it."

Ruby stayed quiet as Hazel continued, "She always wanted children. I kept telling her that she was crazy, that all of this would be a bad upbringing for them. The more I think about how I handled that conversation, the more I…" He placed his head in his right hand and sighed. He leaned back in the seat with irritation around his eyes and looked at me, "Who have you hurt Ruby?"

"Excuse me?"

"When we reveal our powers, there is always someone we hurt, at least one person. A friend, significant other, family member, someone. Who was it for you?"

There was only one person on my mind.

"My father…" I said. "When he discovered that I was a Grimm, he told me that I was a monster…"

"And how did you feel?"

"At the time? Like the one person who I cared about in the world just abandoned me… hated me."

"Oh I doubt that he hates you," Hazel said, "At the time, your father just discovered that his daughter is the very same thing that he is trained to arrest and take away. No, I don't believe that he hates you. I believe that when humans discover something that they do not understand, they fear it. That is why they never gave people like you and I a chance. They only saw the destruction we were capable of committing, not the miracles we could have done for them."

"And now they never will."

"It may feel that way, but I have hope. That is all we can have now."

"Hope? They are wiping all of the Grimm out! How can you have hope," Ruby asked.

"Hope is the one thing we can have. The one thing that humanity cannot take away from us. Down the road, humanity will see what they have done and realize the opportunities that they have destroyed. And that is when Liberteria will reach out to offer a second chance."

"What is Liberteria like?"

"It is a marvelous sight… a river goes through the town, so fish are almost always available. We open up the skies on the stormiest of days, letting the sun shine through. Th houses are small but exceptional with everyone offering to help others fit in. The citizens of Liberteria work as one and help out each other during trying times."

"It sounds like a nice place…"

"Oh it is child, and you shall discover it soon enough. Now then… I better join Sun and the others to discuss what our next strategy is. Try to get some rest," Hazel said.

Ruby walked back to Jaune and the others as they began to drift off to sleep. Sitting in her bed, Ruby stared at the ceiling of the hideout… Ruby reached into her bag and pulled out a photo of her mother.

_6:10 PM_

Taiyang stared at the ceiling of the precinct while staring at his phone, or more importantly, a photo on his phone of himself, Ruby, Summer, Qrow, and Raven during a G.D.T.F BBQ…

Placing his phone, with the photo still open, on the table beside him, Taiyang coxed his eyes as a tear ran down his cheek.

_6:12 PM_

"Ruby."

Ruby looked past the photo to see Jaune as he kneeled down beside her bed, "We'll be fine."

"Are you telling me that or yourself that?"

"Can both be a valid answer?"

Ruby chuckled as she put the photo back in her bag, "I'll see you in the morning."

Jaune nodded as he went back to his bed. Ruby shut her eyes as fell asleep, as ready as she would ever be for what was to come.


	16. Chapter 16: Escape

_December 5th, 2040_

_6:30 AM_

Ruby had the same dream, she was sitting against a tree as a figure approached her. She saw that the figure started to become more clear as it got closer, it kneeled down and said to her, "It is time…"

Ruby was suddenly woken up to the soft shaking feeling on her shoulder. Looking to see who it was, Ruby was somewhat pleased to see Jaune.

"Hey…"

_I could see it in his eyes. He didn't sleep for one minute last night. No one did after that announcement from President Ironwood. Who would sleep when they have become legally marked targets of the government? I didn't even sleep… During the night, I could hear Velvet crying and Coco trying to calm her down. The two other Grimm, Nora and Ren, were having a small argument that ended with crying. In short, there was a lot of crying._

"Pietro has breakfast ready," Jaune said.

As Ruby got out of bed, she saw Coco was putting on a fresh shirt when she turned to Ruby.

"Hey Ruby…"

"Hey Coco… how is Velvet?"

"She's still sleeping. Felt that she could use the extra rest."

Ruby nodded, "What about you?"

Coco had a look of exhaustion as she sat down on her bed, "I'm tired Ruby…"

Ruby sat beside her and held her hand, "We are all tired Coco…"

"Every day we were in Haven, I stayed up until the sun came up out of fear of being discovered. I would plan out what to do should the authorities come during the night to take Velvet away."

"I felt the same way…"

"Ruby, I don't know what is gonna happen on the surface, but should anything happen…"

"Coco, stop it."

Coco turned Ruby to face her, "Promise me that you will look after Velvet."

As Ruby stared into those amber eyes, she could see the fear she felt, "I promise."

"Thank you…"

Coco pulled Ruby in for a hug, and Ruby was glad to return the hug. After a brief moment of bliss, Ruby and Coco broke the connection.

"Okay, I will be out in a second. I need to make sure everything is packed, locked," Coco briefly pulled the gun out of her bag, "and loaded."

Ruby nodded and walked away from Coco and towards Pietro, who was pouring a bowl of leftovers for Jaune.

"Good morning Ruby…" Pietro said as he handed her a bowl of the leftover food from the previous night.

"Hey Pietro…"

_To see Pietro so sad hurt me… We all knew that this was coming, but the fact that it actually did happen still hut us hard…_

As Ruby took her seat beside Jaune at the table, Pietro asked, "So are you all ready?"

Silence was everyone's response.

"Well, I am. I hear that Liberteria has many different jobs ready for newcomers to help expand."

"…What do you want to do there?" Ruby asked.

"I was a teacher before all this… maybe I will take that up again and teach the children who are up there."

"I happen to be a fan of history."

"Well, I will have to keep that in mind," Pietro said, giving Ruby a smile.

_6:25 AM_

Taiyang woke up and proceeded to the armory to gear up in his G.D.T.F gear. As he was tying his boots, he heard Agent Callows.

"I was wondering when our dear Lieutenant would join us."

"I need to see this through."

"Mr. Long, I must be crystal clear with you. The bill has passed and your daughter is going to die alongside the other parasites that reside underground. Should you come across your daughter, I expect you to do what is right by this country."

"…"

Agent Callows took a step forward, "Am I clear?"

"Yes sir," Taiyang said.

"Good, now finish getting ready."

_6:30 AM_

Everyone was awake now and having their rationed food. Hearing footsteps coming from the other room, the Grimm and Coco looked to see Hazel and Sun walking in.

"Hazel, what is the update from up above," Pietro asked.

Hazel sat down amongst the others, his face plastered with horror.

"…All of the institutions across the country have successfully gone through with the extermination of the Grimm inside. Checkpoints have been set up in the major cities and are doing mandatory checks. We received messages from the Montana and Indianapolis hideouts that they were discovered before going radio silent…"

"So many losses…"

"So… What are we gonna do now?"

Sun looked at Hazel.

"Hazel, the plan?"

"Right… the plan," Hazel said as he composed himself before pulling out an old map of the city, "the plan is to move out of the town during the parade today. There is a national park that goes right up to the border wall. For the terrain, the park is mostly snow and tall trees. Once we make it to the wall, there is a hidden opening along the border wall that will allow us to get through."

"The New Montpelier National Park? That is almost twenty miles away from here. How are we supposed to get there," Ren asked.

"There is an RV in the Western sewer exit. We have been prepping it for our departure. With the checkpoint being set up in the town square, we will need to leave before noon," Sun said.

"Jaune and I saw that they were setting up checkpoints leading out of the town. Won't they check the RV?"

"That is where I come in."

"Sun and a few other members have volunteered to create a distraction to draw away the military so that the rest of us can leave."

"But that would mean…" Nora trailed off.

"If this helps you guys get away, then we are more than willing to do it," Sun said.

"Are we sure that this will work," Coco asked.

"With everything that has transpired in the last twenty-four hours, it is our best option for getting out of Burlington," Hazel said.

"Okay, so when are we leaving," Ruby asked.

"We depart at eleven, so I suggest that you have your belongings ready."

When Hazel was done speaking, everyone went to go do as he suggested. Everyone, that is, with Ruby being the only exception.

Ruby saw a pad of paper and pen on the table, most likely Pietro's she thought, as she borrowed it and began to write.

"Ruby, what are you doing? We need to get ready," Jaune said as he walked back to the table.

"I don't know about you, but I packed last night. I figured I would do some writing before heading out."

"Of course you would…" Jaune sighed as he sat beside her, "Only Ruby Rose would write about something before going on a very dangerous mission."

"And only Jaune Arc would be the one to call me out on it."

Jaune chuckled at Ruby's joke before he stared off towards the entrance of the hideout.

"I wish things were different. For the last three months, all I have been doing is planning how I am gonna get to this point. The idea of getting across the border was nothing more than that… an idea. And now that we are doing it, it feels… kind of unreal. You know?"

"I know what you mean. Every time I wake up, I think that I am gonna be back in my real bed and all of this would have been some crazy nightmare," Ruby said as she wrote one final thing on the first sheet of paper. Ripping it out, Ruby folded it up and placed it in her pocket beside her mother's photo, "But as Uncle Qrow told me, you have to deal with the hand you were given."

"I guess it could be worse."

"We're hiding in a sewer and are about to perform a possible city wide breakout mission that involves evading the military to escape being killed by our own government because of what we are. What is worse than that?"

"Well… There could be actual sewage in here."

Now it was Ruby who was the one to start laughing as she finished the second piece of paper. This time, however, Ruby placed that paper in her jeans pocket, which made Jaune a little curious.

"Can I see what you are writing?"

"No, you cannot."

"Why?"

"Because."

"Because…"

"If I think you deserve to read it, then I will show you."

Jaune rolled his eyes as he got up.

"Well, I am gonna go and see if anyone needs help."

As Jaune walked away from her, Ruby realized that she probably could wear some warmer clothing, so she walked back over to her bag and pulled out a second sweatshirt and put it on before putting her jacket on again. Jeans were the closest warmest thing she had, so those had to do, the same is said for her shoes. She made sure everything was where they should be. Letter one in her jeans pocket, and letter two in her breast pocket alongside… her mom's photo. Pulling it out, Ruby stared at the worn down photo as a tear caressed her cheek.

"I hope we make it…" Ruby kissed the photo and placed it back in her pocket beside the letter.

_11:01 AM_

Hazel walked to the center of the room, his clothing changed to that of a winter gear, and said, "It's time. We are moving out."

The group all proceeded to the entrance and walked through the fake wall. Making it to the first intersection of the sewers, Sun and the other members split from the other Grimm but not before Hazel and Sun hugged once more.

"This is goodbye for now old friend." Hazel said.

"Don't worry, I'm used to these scenarios. This will be a walk in the park for us," Sun said.

Hazel chuckled.

"I am sure that it will be," Hazel patted Sun's backs, "Report to Oz when you make it across the border."

"Don't worry, we will head over to the second entrance once you're out of the city."

"Safe travels guys," Sun said before he and the other members of The Light went to set the distraction.

As they went right, the group of Grimm went left and followed Hazel through the sewer system until they made it to a ladder. Hazel was the first to climb up to make sure the coast is clear. Hearing a ragged dragging noise, the group looked up to see the clouded sky as Hazel climbed back down.

"We have to move quickly," Hazel said, "Pietro, you first."

Pietro was the first to go up due to his age, then it was Hazel, followed by Velvet, Coco, Nora, Ren, Jaune, and finally Ruby. Once she made it up top, Coco offered her a hand, which she took.

When they were all out, Hazel and Jaune moved the pot back over the pothole. As her eyes adjusted to the sunlight, Ruby saw the RV that Hazel had mentioned as Pietro was helping Velvet and Coco onto it.

"Everyone, get in the RV now," Hazel said.

As Ruby and Jaune were the last to get in before Hazel, they heard a shout.

"Hey! Burlington police department. Stop right there!"

Hazel looked to the officer as he had his hand on his holster. Deciding to play an act, Hazel turned to the officer, "Why hello officer, what can I do for you?"

"What were you all doing in the sewers?" He asked as he walked up to Hazel.

"Well officer, this can be explained by _Tempus Tardus_," Hazel said.

Ruby watched as the guard suddenly looked as if he was frozen, a look of shock plastered onto his face as Hazel got into the car, his eyes Grimm.

"What did you do," Ruby asked.

"He's just stuck in time for a brief moment. We have about fifteen minutes before he unfreezes. Pietro, you need to drive."

"Already on it," Pietro said as he started the car.

"Kids, what do we have for resources," Hazel asked.

"Not much, maybe enough leaves for a few fire spells, but with all the snow, we may have to rely on water," Nora said.

"Hopefully, it will not come to that." Hazel said.

"Vel, put on your seatbelt," Coco said.

As the RV pulled up to the military checkpoint, Hazel grabbed the radio beside him.

"Wu, report. We are at point A."

'Copy, we are at the destination and it is set for three minutes.'

"Good…" Hazel said as he turned off the radio.

_11:14 AM_

Agent Callows and Taiyang stared at the monitors and listened to radio transmissions when suddenly…

'Wu, report. We are at point A.'

'Copy, we are at the destination and it is set for three minutes.'

"That was Hazel," Agent Callows said.

"What do you think that they are planning?"

"Hmm I am unsure… check the cameras facing the checkpoints. All of them."

The monitors changed to show all of the entrances to the city.

_11:16 AM_

"Afternoon officer," Pietro said as he rolled down his window.

"Afternoon sir, where you are going?"

"Going to Maine to see my granddaughter's graduation." Hazel said.

"Please show me your ID and we can let you on your way."

"Of course, let me just ah…" Pietro said before grabbing his wallet, "Sorry, old age must be catching up with me."

"Ah I don't envy you sir."

However, before Pietro could hand him the wallet, a loud explosion came from the center of town.

_11:17 AM_

The sudden explosion shook the precinct, and everyone was freaking out.

"What the hell was that," Taiyang said.

"EXPLOSION SOUTH SIDE! ALL UNITS MOVE TO SECURE," a soldier yelled outside.

Taiyang looked to Agent Callows, but was shocked to see that he did not seem to care about the sudden explosion as he continued to stare at a monitor.

_11:18 AM_

The soldier waved to raise the gate, "GO NOW!"

Pietro quickly drove through the checkpoint as everyone inside the RV was almost cheering that the plan worked.

If only that were true…

_11:30 AM_

'Attention all units, Grimm appeared from the sewers and put me under some spell. They are driving an RV. I repeat, the Grimm are in an RV.'

"Go back fifteen minutes ago, the north exit, NOW," Agent Callows yelled.

The soldier did so and everyone saw the RV appear and drive off after the explosion. Agent Callows turned and proceeded towards the exit of the precinct.

"Send every unit, every Hunter, every fucking bullet after that RV. They will not get away," Agent Callows said, "Mr. Long, you're with me."

Agent Callows and Taiyang got into a car and Agent Callows was quick to drive after the RV.

_11:38 AM_

Everyone was enjoying the small freedom of getting out of Burlington while Hazel and Pietro seemed concerned. Ruby got up and proceeded to the front as Hazel and Pietro were talking.

"Ah Miss Rose, what is it?"

"What will happen to Sun and the others," Ruby asked.

"They know the plan for relocation. We have done it multiple times," Hazel said. "They will be fine."

Suddenly, the RV shook violently and multiple bullet holes went through the walls of the RV.

"The hell?" Hazel asked as he looked in the rearview mirror.

Ruby did the same and saw what it was.

"Hunters," Hazel said.

"Looks like our cover has been blown." Pietro said as he punched the gas.

"I will cover you," Hazel said as he opened the door and leaned out of the side, "_Electricae_!"

Ruby looked out of the window and saw one of the Hunters explode before another was hit by the electricity of the former Hunter.

Hazel was about to use the spell again when the Hunters suddenly vanished.

"They're gone…"

But that is when Nora screamed, "LOOK OUT!"

There was a gunshot. A single gunshot that caused the shift in the tides… It was like it was a battlefield. Ruby watched as everything flew up into the air as if gravity had stopped working. Velvet flew into the air as Coco was screaming, Jaune was looking out of the window as he was still in shock while Ren and Nora were hugging each other tightly. As Ruby stood there, she only had a split second to react… and by then, it was too late. Everything went dark.

"…by… uby wa… up… RUBY!"

Ruby was woken up with multiple stings across her body as Jaune was shaking her.

"Ruby get up!" Jaune yelled.

As Ruby got up, she saw that they were in front of a forest as there was still a loud ringing in her head. As her ears regained their hearing, she looked around to see that the RV was on its side, one of the tires had been shot out.

"Vel…?"

Ruby looked to see Coco was laying beside Velvet, her eyes bloodshot and body limp.

"Vel… Vel wake up…" Coco said, her voice hoarse as she tried shaking Velvet's cold body, "VELVET THIS ISN'T FUNNY! WAKE UP!"

But Velvet did not respond… her neck must have snapped during the crash…

Coco pulled her sister's body close to her as she wept into her sister's shoulder, "Oh god Vel… I'm so sorry…"

"If those Hunters are after us, then the army is short behind," Pietro said.

"You're right, we have to go,"

Pietro crouched down and placed his hand on Coco's shoulder, "I am sorry child, but we have to g—"

"No," Coco said.

"She would not want you to die here beside her," Pietro said.

"NO," Coco yelled.

"If you were the one who died, what would you have her do," Pietro asked.

As Coco stared at Velvet, she said, "Survive…"

"I am sorry… but it is time," Pietro said.

Coco pulled Velvet close and kissed her forehead before gently setting her down and placing her arms on her chest. Pietro placed his hand on Velvet's head and said, "_Somnus in pace, parum unum_. _Vos reperio ut pacem quaerimus_."

"We have to move, like right now," Nora said.

Suddenly, three Hunters appears overhead, 'Grimm located, taking—'

An almost gut wrenching scream came from Coco as she pulled out her pistol and shot down two of the Hunters, with one left which Hazel took care of with an audible, "_Electricae_!"

"That drone will be back… with soldiers. Follow me," Hazel said as the group walked into the forest.

_11:47 AM_

The jeeps and Hunters all came to the entrance of the forest near the broken down RV. Standing beside the RV was Agent Callows.

"The Grimm is dead, sir," The soldier said.

"How about we make extra sure," Agent Callows said.

The soldier nodded and shot Velevt three times in vital areas, shocking Taiyang. But Agent Callows just said, "Now everyone, go out and do your jobs. No survivors."

Taiyang loaded his gun and followed the soldiers into the forest, but Agent Callows was not one to trust Mr. Long with this task, "Who here is in charge of the drones?"

"Private Tucker, sir."

"Follow Mr. Long," Agent Callows said.

"Yes sir," Private Tucker pressed a couple of buttons on his wrist and a Hunter followed after Taiyang.

_11:50 AM_

The snow was up to the base of their feet as the group continued to move on through the forest. Coco looked back to Coco who seemed broken, her eyes still irritated and her expression… blank. Looking back ahead of her, Ruby saw Hazel as he was leading them through the snowy forest.

Suddenly, a bullet whizzed past them and hit a tree, "Grimm! Seven of them! Twelve o'clock!"

"RUN," Hazel yelled, "We need some cover!"

"On it," Ruby yelled as she aimed her hand towards the ground, "_AER_!"

Ruby sent a burst of air at the ground, sending thousands of particles into the air and created a small smoke screen as they continued on, dodging shots that hit snow and trees around them.

Two drones flew in from the sky, firing down towards the Grimm, but were quickly disabled by Jaune and Ren after using the electric spell.

"Jaune! Ren! Aim for the trees," Hazel said.

Jaune and Ren did so and sent the electricity through the trees, setting the trees aflame.

"_Aqua_," Hazel said as he used the water as a blade, cutting trees ahead of them and causing the trees to fall and block their path from the soldier. But in that quick moment, Hazel cut a tree that began to fall between the group, separating Nora, Ren, and Hazel on one side, and Pietro, Ruby, Jaune, and Coco on the other side.

"Shit! Pietro, go around and we will reconvene at the wall."

"Over there!" They heard the soldiers yell.

"Okay, come on children," Pietro said as the group followed him through the forest.

"How far are we from the wall," Ruby asked as they ran over the slopes and dodged more gunfire.

"Come on, I think I see— AGH!"

Ruby stared in horror as Pietro was shot twice in the back before falling to the ground. His eyes became dilated, blood coming from his back and chest, covering the snow with more blood. Pietro was dead… and the person who shot him, was Taiyang.

"Ruby…"

"Dad?"

_11:55 AM_

"Lietenant Taiyang is on his own, should I send the Hunter to help him," Private Tucker asked.

"Wait… I want to see what she will do."

_11:55 AM_

_As I stared at my father, it was not anger or hatred that I saw… but sadness. I saw the exhaustion in his irritated eyes, I saw the grey hairs from stress in his beard, his armor weighing him down, and his hands shaking as if we were in an earthquake._

"Ruby…" He said again, as if he had to make sure that it was her.

Coco took a step in front of the two and aimed her gun at Taiyang, "Stay. Back."

Ruby took a step in front of Coco and placed a hand on her gun and pushed it down.

"Ruby, what're you doing," Coco asked.

"It's okay…"

"Ruby, come with me…"

Ruby took another step towards him, "You know I can't do that."

Taiyang closed his eyes, knowing that was going to be her response, "I-I can protect you… I promise."

"You know that letting me go is the only way that you can protect me now," Ruby took a step forward, but they all heard Taiyang's safety being switched to off, "I won't let you leave again."

Coco aimed her gun again, but Jaune pushed the gun down, knowing that there was no need.

Taking one more step, Ruby's chest was now only a few inches from the gun, "Then do it… because this is all that waits for me if you try to take me in now."

Taiyang's eyes began to shed tears as he hesitantly kept the gun trained on her heart before lowering the gun and falling to his knees, and began to cry uncontrollably.

"I… I'm sorry, Ruby… I'm so sorry… Please don't go…"

Ruby knelt down to meet her father's level and pulled him into a hug, which he embraced.

"I'm sorry, dad, but this is something that I have to do…"

Ruby tightened her embrace as she placed her hand on the back of his head as she began to shed her own tears. Knowing that this was the only way that he can be at peace, Ruby said the words…

"_Memoria Damnus Ruby Rose…_"

Knowing the spell, Taiyang tried to break free, but Ruby just closed her eyes and continued to search through her father's memories with one thought.

_I am sorry father… if remembering me will bring you pain… then it would be best if you do not remember me at all…_ _I saw everything… the time I was born, when I took my first steps, when I rode my bike for the first time, going to school… everything was flashing before our eyes, before fading away forever…_

When she was done, Ruby pulled her hand back, and in it was a sphere that contained Taiyang's memories of her. Looking down at her father, Ruby saw that he was mentally processing what had happened… as if he was in shock…

Reaching into her jacket pocket, Ruby pulled out the photo of her mother and letter. Using her hand with the memories in it, Ruby pushed the orb into the photo, infusing the photo with the memories of her.

"When you wish to remember… remember my name."

Ruby then placed the photo within the letter, which she then placed gently on the snow in front of him. Reacting to it, Taiyang looked up at the, now, mysterious strangers.

"Who… Who are you?"

With tears in her eyes, Ruby with swelled vocal chords, "My name is Ruby… and we found… found you laying here."

"Ruby… heh that's a nice name," Taiyang looked down at the photo and letter that were placed in front of him. He picked them up and looked to Ruby, "Is… Is this yours?"

"…No, you dropped that."

Taiyang then saw Ruby's tears, "Why are you crying?"

Now sobbing, Ruby wiped her eyes, "You just… You remind me of someone I knew."

The moment was ruined by the sound of gunfire, surprising everyone as Coco readied her gun. Taiyang stood up and seemed concerned.

"Do you guys know what is going on? That sounds like shooting?"

"We're… at a shooting range," Coco said.

"Oh… well, do you know how to get out of here?"

"Yeah. Just head that way…" Jaune said, point in the direction that they had come from.

"Thank you, young man," Taiyang said as he stood up, putting the photo in his jacket, "Well, I better take off now, Summer is going to kill me. I told her I was going to get off of work early to take her to the doctor. Well, I guess I will deal with that when it comes. Take care you guys. A-And, excuse me… what did you say your name was again?"

Ruby looked to her father again, "Ruby."

"That's funny… my wife, Summer, always wanted a daughter. I might use that name."

As Ruby watched her father walking back towards the other humans, she could not conceal the tears in her eyes as her father had finally ended the search for her…

Jaune walked up and placed a hand on Ruby's shoulder, "Ruby… I'm sorry, but we have to go…"

"I know… Let's go."

_12:02 PM_

"How sweet… send in the Hunter," Agent Callows said.

_12:03 PM_

Coco was helping Ruby up a small slope when Jaune yelled, "LOOK OUT!"

Ruby turned to see the Hunter was in front of them, it's gun at the ready. Coco pulled her gun while Jaune ran up and shouted "_Aqua_!"

Coco fired her gun, damaging the armor of the Hunter, but as the water spell made contact, a single shot was fired before it crashed into the ground.

"I got it," Jaune cheered.

Coco turned to see Ruby, and her eyes widened, "Jaune."

"Did you see that? That was awesome."

"Jaune!"

"What," Jaune asked as he turned to Coco and saw Ruby.

_I was confused. Why did he stare at me as if he saw something horrible. I was happy. I was so energetic. I… I suddenly had this strange soreness in my stomach. And when I looked down to see what the source of the pain was, I saw that the bullet went right through my midriff…_

"Ruby?"

Ruby took a step forward and stumbled, "Jaune…?"

Coco and Jaune grabbed Ruby to keep her from falling, "It's okay. It's okay Ruby. We'll get you to Hazel. He will know what to do."

As they lifted Ruby up, she screamed in pain as blood continued to leak from her stomach.

"The gunshot came from this way," the kids heard.

"Shit," Jaune said, "Coco, keep us covered."

Coco loaded her last magazine into the gun and aimed back towards the voices that were getting closer as Jaune continued to carry Ruby by the arm.

_My body was getting heavy… my eyes were getting heavy… and I was getting tired. I was getting so tired…_

As they continued to move closer to the wall, Ruby stared ahead and saw how far they had to go.

"Jaune…" Ruby wheezed.

"Hang on Ruby," Jaune said, "Coco, how are we?"

"They're getting closer."

Jaune set Ruby down and proceeded ahead before coming back.

"Okay, I see the wall. It's over a few slopes, but I think we can pull it off. Are you ready, Ruby," Jaune asked.

Ruby hesitantly nodded, so Jaune grabbed her by the arm and pulled her up, but the pain was so excruciating…that Ruby collapsed before she even took a step.

"Ruby," Jaune said.

Looking towards Coco, both she and Coco knew…

As Jaune lifted her back up, Ruby saw the blood trail that was behind them as I slipped out of Jaune' grip and fell back onto the ground against the tree.

"They went this way," they heard.

"Jaune, we're running out of time."

"Just fucking cover us, Coco. Ruby, you have to get up."

"No…"

"B-But Ruby, we're almost there," Jaune said, "Okay? Come on. Just one more push, okay?"

As Jaune tried to pick her up, Ruby cried in agony, "Jaune stop!"

Jaune looked at Ruby and could tell as well as he set her back down against the tree.

"Ruby, you can't give up. G-Get up!" Jaune said, tears streaming down his face.

"They'll follow the trail…" Ruby said, weakly pointing in the direction that they came from.

"N-No… I'll hide the trail. Just give me a—"

"They are already on their way," Coco said.

Jaune stood up and shouted, "FUCK!"

"Jaune…"

Jaune looked to Ruby, a bloodied smile on her pale face.

"Go."

"No. Fuck that, we will stay and—"

Ruby pulled out the letter that was in her pocket and handed it to Jaune, "Go."

"I promised to protect you…"

"So did I… to you…" Ruby said.

Jaune took the paper and put it in his pocket, "Ruby…"

"Go…"

Coco placed her hand on Jaune's shoulder, "Jaune… it's time to go."

Jaune wiped his eyes as he stood up and back away. Coco took a moment to kneel down top see Ruby, "Hey kid…"

"Coco…"

"I know… I will, like I know you would have."

Ruby nodded before looking back towards the voices that were approaching them.

"Come on Jaune. Goodbye, Ruby."

"G-Goodbye Ruby…" Jaune said.

Ruby watched as the two ran off with a slight smile on her face.

"Goodbye…" Ruby said as she sat there… and waited for what was to come.


	17. Epilogue

_December 5th, 2040_

_12:14 PM_

Agent Callows stood at the edge of the forest alongside Private Tucker when they saw Taiyang emerge.

"Hello there, Mr. Long," Agent Callows said.

"Do I know you?"

"No, but I know you. You are currently in danger. Officer Tucker here will return you to the precinct in Burlington."

"Wait, I'm in Burlington. My god, I have to get home," Taiyang said.

"Yes. Yes, we will just need you to fill out some paperwork at the precinct. It shouldn't take more than an hour or so. Tucker?"

"But, sir, the drones—"

Agent Callows looked to the soldier with daggers, sending shivers down his spine, "I mean, yes sir. Follow me Mr. Long."

As Tucker and Taiyang walked away from the entrance, Agent Callows proceeded into the forest.

_12:16 PM_

"Come on, Jaune," Coco yelled.

Turning the corner, around a tree, the two saw a soldier just inches from them. Luckily, Coco was the first to aim and fire, hitting the soldier in the chest twice and taking him down.

"Oh my god…" Coco said.

"No time! Come on," Jaune yelled.

The two arrived at the wall and looked down both left and right to see Hazel waving to them.

"Over here!"

Coco and Jaune ran as fast as they could as soldiers began to fire in their direction. Hazel turned, his arms extended and shouted, "_Tempus Tardus Maximus_."

Coco and Jaune saw the forest had almost frozen in time, the snowflakes were still and the soldiers were frozen. Looking towards Hazel, they saw his veins were almost popping from his arms and his nose began to bleed.

"HURRY!"

Coco and Jaune ran to Hazel and saw that at the wall was almost peeled open from a spell. As the children ran through said hole, Hazel released the spell and ran through as well as the spell began to quickly wear off and the soldiers quickly approached.

"Quickly. Close the hole," Hazel coughed.

Being made of metal, Nora and Ren quickly said in unison, "_ferro_."

Nora and Ren mimicked a pulling motion as the wall began to close up the hole before finally sealing up as the soldiers continued firing at them. Luckily, none of the bullets hit.

"We made it…" Hazel said as he stood up.

Looking to Coco and Jaune, he saw the looks on their faces, "Where is Pietro?"

"…"

"And Miss Rose?"

Jaune turned away and walked away from Hazel, who looked seemingly disappointed.

"I give my condolences to the loss of your friend as well as your sister. _Ut inveniunt pacem quaerunt_."

Coco wiped her eyes as she looked over to Jaune, "What now?"

"Now… comes our aid."

Looking in the direction that Hazel was looking at, which was in the direction Jaune was walking, a group of people drove up in a convoy vehicle. The man who got out was older, but seemed to be very confident.

"Hello there, my name is Ozma or Ozpin and I am the leader of The Light. You do not have to worry anymore. You are safe now. If you are all ready to go, please step into the convoy so that we may depart before any soldiers see where we are going."

As Ren and Nora proceeded to the convoy and Hazel began to speak with Ozpin, Coco walked up to Jaune who was staring back at the wall leading into America.

"Jaune."

Jaune looked at Coco and she could see the pain in his eyes. It was the same pain she felt in her heart.

"What if she is still alive… she needs us. She needs me to come help her," Jaune said.

Coco hugged Jaune, who embraced her.

"We… we have to survive for them, Jaune. Neither of them would want us to die here alongside them."

Jaune did not have to say anything to know that Coco was telling the truth. He just nodded and proceeded to the convoy.

"Mr. Arc, is it? And Miss Adel, please come here," Ozpin said.

The two walked up to Ozpin, who just nodded to Hazel to dismiss him, "Hazel told me what happened in the forest. You have my deepest sympathies. You two have been on such a perilous journey and the cost has been far harsher than what it should have been. When we arrive in Liberteria, come see me and we shall discuss this further."

Coco, Jaune, and Ozpin got into the convoy and they drove towards their freedom. But no one was smiling… and all Jaune could do… was continue staring at that damn wall.

_12:20 PM_

_As I sat there, I felt the snow landing on my shoulder… my eyes were heavy and my breath was wheezy… I was dying, I knew it already and deep down, I was okay with it. If I was able to help them get away, then what I did was worth it… I guess in a way that I did escape. I did make it out and found the freedom that I was looking, it just wasn't the type that I was expecting…_

As Ruby sat there against the tree, she heard a voice… it was faint, but she heard it call out…

"Ruby."

Ruby looked ahead and saw a figure approaching her.

_This was my dream… or perhaps my glimpse of the future. As the figure approached, I could see the figure's form more clearly and my eyes widened in amazement. Or at least, I assume that they widened._

"M…Mom?"

Ruby watched as mom give a warm smile as she kneeled down in front of the bleeding girl.

"Oh child, look what happened to you…" She said.

"Mom…" Ruby said again as tears streamed down her face.

She placed her hand on Ruby's wound, causing her to wince slightly, but she heard her mom say, "Shhhhh Shhh… it's okay. _Sana_."

Suddenly, Ruby felt something. This feeling was like a warm clay that had filled the wound and was now beginning to mend the wound. But as she felt herself being healed, she saw the ironic phrase of a Grimm reality.

Where her mother was in her vision was a man in a suit. He had a small medkit that had some needle and bandages. Looking down at her wound, Ruby saw that it was healed and she felt as though she was healing.

This was Agent Callows.

"Oh dear, did mommy go away," He asked.

Ruby was about to open her mouth to scream when Agent Callows placed his hand on Ruby's mouth and shushed her.

"There will be no point in that, little Rose."

_How did he know who I was?!_

"I will say, that little memory wipe spell you pulled was quite entertaining. The look on his face with his desperate struggles, and oh my goodness how you lied about his poor dead wife. I wonder how that Raven women is going to respond to that. But enough about that nonsense. I saved your life, miss Rose, because I believe that you can help me. And if you can't… well, let's say that I will not be pleased. So… how about we start with a little question. Short and simple: Where is Liberteria?"

**That is it for Escape. Let me know what you guys thought by reviewing it please so that I can tell if writing a sequel will please the masses of FanFiction.**


End file.
